part 1: the Color Wheel
Have you ever wondered why certain colors affect you in specific ways? Do you have trouble choosing colors that enhance each other? Does coming up with the proper branding colors seem daunting? Not to worry, we are here to help give you a fuller understanding of how to use color in your marketing.
Color theory encompasses a wide range of topics, and we believe there is too much important information to share in a single blog. That’s why we have created a three-part informative series about color theory. Color theory encompasses both the science and art of using color. It explains how humans perceive color, and the visual effects when colors mix, match, or contrast with each other. Color theory also involves the messages colors communicate and the methods used to replicate color.
When using both warm and cool colors, the eye sees the warm colors first, bringing them to the front, while the cool colors go to the background.
Kalli Collective Tweet
What IS Color?
Objects reflect light in different combinations of wavelengths. Our brains pick up those wavelength combinations and translate them into the phenomenon we call color. Color is perception. Our eyes see something (the sky, for example), and as data is sent from our eyes to our brains, we instantaneously perceive a specific color (blue).
Do you remember learning about colors in school? Primary and secondary colors, anyone? Let’s take a nostalgic trip and visit the Color Wheel.


THE COLOR WHEEL
Did you know that the first Color Wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666? He used physics to develop a color disc based on how light reflected off of prisms. His discovery laid the foundation for the color wheel we know today.
The color wheel consists of three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), three secondary colors: colors that are created when primary colors are mixed: (green, orange, and purple), and six, tertiary colors which are colors made from primary and secondary colors such as blue-green or red-violet.
You’re probably thinking that there are many more colors than there are on the color wheel. Like Navy Blue? Or Seafoam Green? That’s where tints, shades, and tones come in.

TINT, TONE, & SHADE
Simply put, tints, tones, and shades create variations of hues, or colors, on the color wheel.
A tint is a hue to which white has been added. For example, red + white = pink.
A shade is a hue to which black has been added. For example, red + black = burgundy.
Finally, a tone is a color to which black and white (or grey) have been added. This darkens the original hue while making the color appear more subtle and less intense.


WARM & COOL COLORS
Draw a line through the center of the wheel, and separate the warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) from cool colors (blues, greens, purples). Warm colors are generally associated with energy, brightness, and action, whereas cool colors are often identified with calm, peace, and serenity.
When you recognize that color has a “temperature,” you begin to understand how choosing all warm or all cool colors in a logo or on your website can impact your message.
Remember, when using both warm and cool colors, the eye sees the warm colors first, bringing them to the front, while the cool colors go to the background. For example, our branding colors are a bright red and a darker purple, but you'll always see our red first.