When selecting colors for a design project, it’s important to understand how colors relate to each other. Using colors that have certain relationships creates color schemes that are harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Two color schemes that rely on close relationships between colors are analogous color schemes and adjacent (also called complementary) color schemes. Understanding how these schemes work and when to use them is key for designers.
What is an Analogous Color Scheme?
An analogous color scheme uses colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors share a common hue, but have different saturation and brightness. For example, red, red-orange, and orange are an analogous color triad.
Analogous colors create harmony in a design because they possess enough contrast to be lively, but still have enough commonality to prevent jarring clashes. This makes them ideal for Gradient backgrounds and duotone images.
How to Create an Analogous Color Scheme
Follow these steps to create an analogous color scheme:
1. Choose your base color on the color wheel. Let’s use blue for this example.
2. Identify the colors on either side of your base color. For blue, these would be blue-violet and blue-green.
3. You now have a triad to use in your design! For more color options, you can expand your selection by one more color on each side. For blue, we could add violet and green.
Benefits of Analogous Colors
Using an analogous color scheme offers several benefits:
– Harmony – The colors have enough similarity to feel cohesive, but enough contrast to be interesting. This creates a harmonious look.
– Versatility – You can use just a triad or expand your palette for more options. Analogous colors work well for backgrounds, buttons, headlines, borders, etc.
– Easy on the eyes – Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel so they naturally look pleasant together. There are no jarring clashes for the eye.
Examples of Analogous Color Schemes
Here are some examples of analogous color triads pulled from the color wheel:
| Base Color | Analogous Colors |
|---|---|
| Red | Red-orange, red-violet |
| Green | Yellow-green, blue-green |
| Yellow | Yellow-green, yellow-orange |
Brands also make frequent use of analogous colors in their logos and websites, such as:
– Instagram – Orange, yellow-orange, red-orange
– Flickr – Pink, purple, blue
– Target – Red, orange, yellow
When to Use an Analogous Color Scheme
Analogous colors are versatile but work especially well for:
– Websites and branding – The harmonious colors create a cohesive look. Analogous colors are easy on the eyes on websites.
– Gradient backgrounds – Smoothly transitioning between analogous colors creates beautiful gradient backgrounds.
– Photography – Analogous color filters applied to photos or used as duotone colors create stylish images for marketing.
– Paintings – Many famous paintings use analogous colors, like Starry Night with its blues and yellows.
Limitations of Analogous Colors
While analogous colors have many benefits, there are a few limitations to consider:
– Low contrast – With analogous colors being so close together on the color wheel, sometimes the scheme can look a bit flat. Adding in an accent color is an easy fix.
– Dull dark colors – Darker analogous colors like browns, blacks, and grays can sometimes look dull and dirty when used together. Combining them with brighter accent colors prevents this.
– Difficult color variety – Since analogous colors stem from the same hue, it can be hard to add variety. Using tints, shades, and accents helps.
What is an Adjacent (Complementary) Color Scheme?
Adjacent colors (more commonly called complementary colors) are any two colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Red and green, blue and orange, or purple and yellow are examples of complementary pairs.
These color opposites create strong visual contrast when used together. This dynamic makes complementary colors ideal for accents.
How to Choose Complementary Colors
Picking complementary colors is easy:
1. Select any color on the color wheel
2. Identify the color directly across from your initial color – this is its complementary color
For example, the complement of blue is orange. The complement of yellow-green is red-violet.
Benefits of Complementary Colors
Using complementary colors offers these advantages:
– Contrast – Complementary colors are as different as possible from each other. This creates bold, high-contrast designs.
– Vibrancy – Complements make each other appear more vibrant and energetic when used together.
– Versatile – Any color can be paired with its complement for great contrast in any design.
Examples of Complementary Color Schemes
Here are some common complementary color pairs:
| Color | Complement |
|---|---|
| Red | Green |
| Orange | Blue |
| Yellow | Purple |
Many brands use complementary colors in their logos:
– YouTube – Red and blue
– Burger King – Blue and orange
– Ikea – Blue and yellow
When to Use Complementary Colors
Complementary colors work best when you want:
– Strong contrast – Using color opposites together creates an eye-catching, high contrast design. This contrast grabs attention.
– Vibrancy – Complements make each other pop when used together. This works great for accent colors.
– A bold look – The opposites create a bold, dynamic aesthetic. Complements convey energy and excitement.
Limitations of Complementary Colors
While complementary colors can make designs stand out, there are some pitfalls to avoid:
– Jarring contrast – Too much high contrast can be jarring and overwhelm the eyes instead of attracting. Use complements sparingly.
– Vibrancy overkill – Complements might make each other pop so much that the design looks gaudy and amateurish. Use a lighter touch.
– Difficult to balance – It can be tricky balancing complementary colors. One usually dominates the other. A neutral color helps balance them.
Combining Analogous and Complementary Colors
Analogous and complementary color schemes don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Often designers use both analogies and complements together for the best of both worlds.
Some examples of combining them include:
– Use analogous colors for your base palette – This creates harmony and flow. Add Pops of complementary accents for contrast.
– Complementary backgrounds with analogous content – A complementary background grabs attention while analogous content is easy on the eyes.
– Analogous with split complement – Choose an analogous triad, then add the complement of your middle color for contrast.
Thoughtfully combining analogous and complementary colors allows designers to create color schemes that are eye-catching, vibrant, and harmonious all at once.
Tools to Build Analogous and Complementary Color Schemes
There are many helpful tools for building analogous and complementary color schemes:
– Online color wheel – Websites like Canva’s color wheel recommend perfect analogies and complements.
– Adobe Color – Build, save, and export analogies, complements, triads, and more color schemes.
– Coolors – Generate color palettes and browse thousands of premade schemes.
– Pictaculous – Upload images to automatically extract a complementary color palette.
– Paletton – A color wheel tool for choosing harmonious color combinations.
These tools provide color inspiration and take the guesswork out of selecting cohesive colors.
Conclusion
Understanding analogous and complementary colors gives designers two powerful tools for creating harmonious and striking color combinations. Analogous colors promote unity while complementary colors inject contrast. Combining both schemes helps strike the right balance for attractive, effective designs. By leveraging these color relationships, designers can build memorable visuals that resonate with audiences.