“The colors to the website are wrong.”

“Really? Isn’t your brand color blue?”

“Yes. Just not that blue.”

That’s the feedback that I received from a client early last year when I had delivered a finished website project.

I had gotten the colors all wrong. It was devastating.

To learn from my mistake, I went on a journey to rediscover colors and their meaning.

Colors are a universal language. There are colors that spark emotions of happiness. Some colors can remind us of something simple from our childhood or make us feel hungry.

Growing up, in my primary school, we had 3 class streams or groups. There was the red group, the green group and the yellow group. I was in the red group. We also had school houses. Doves, Peacocks, Cranes and Eagles houses. Dove’s house was red, Peacock’s house was green, Crane’s house was yellow and Eagles’ house was blue. I belonged to the red house, Doves.

On sports days, the sports grounds popped so vividly with the house colors. It was such a magnificent sight. This is many years ago but I remember those colors like it was just yesterday. Colors when used correctly can make a lasting impression. 

Today, at my workplace, I work with colors every day. As a web developer and designer, I work with several distinguished brands. I have worked with schools, banks, restaurants, and hotels. With proper use of color, a brand can stand out of the crowd. Brands can cleverly tell their stories using colors. 

So, what’s in a color? Would a tomato by any other color taste the same?

To understand colors, join me as I take you through a crash course on color theory. We shall study the color wheel, the psychology of color, and color harmonies. Let’s start with the basics.

The color wheel

From the graphic above; 

• What are the three primary colors?
• What are the secondary colors? 
• What colors on the color wheel are warm?
• What colors on the color wheel are cold?

Colors are a universal language. There are colors that spark emotions of happiness. Some colors can remind us of something simple from our childhood or make us feel hungry.

The next time you have a presentation to make, remember to choose your colors wisely. How you choose and pick the color for your presentation is greatly influenced by the emotions that you want to bring about in your audience. 

The Psychology of Color

Warm colors like red bring strength and energy to your presentations. They seek attention. Imagine the red traffic light or a red stop sign.

A color like green is fresh and clean. Represents growth. 

Blue is the most widely used color on the color wheel. It represents stability and calmness. Toastmasters International loves the color blue. Banks and financial institutions love the color blue too. Popularised after the recession to gain trust from customers.

The other color that I want to talk about is the color purple. When you see this color, what comes to mind? Royalty. Sophistication. Commonly used in the hospitality industry and have you seen the new church branding?

Color Harmonies.

Finding the perfect color combination can be your winning secret to having an eye-catching creation. Below are some examples of great color combinations.

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You can also get more out of one single color when you apply a tint or a shade to it. Creating a monochromatic color combination.

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Fellow Competent Communicators, now that we know the theory of color, let’s get popping at our next presentation.