The color you use for your logo should be symbolic of what the business represent. It creates positive or negative association. Some logos like Ebay and Google have many colors which indicate diversity of operation. Some colors also have strong cultural connection. In China and Korea, white is a color for mourning and sorrow while in European countries, white is a color of purity and is worn on wedding days.
Color Harmonies
Color harmonies provide us information on how we can combine colors so they can work together in design.
Complementary color: They are opposite each other in the
color wheel. When they are used in high saturation, they create a vibrant feel. They are however not very good for text. Examples of complementary colors are red and green
Analogous color: They are next to each other in the
color wheel. They are cool combination and match together to create pleasing design. Their low contrast means you have to increase the saturation of one color which serve as the domineering color. The second color serve as the support and the third as accent
Split Complementary color: This is a variation of complementary color. It has a base color and two colors adjacent to the complement. The color scheme is less tense than complimentary color. This color scheme should be used with care
Triadic color: The color combination are spaced around the color wheel. They are spread like a triangle in the color scheme. They create a vibrant look when used. They are cool when used together even in different hues
Tetradic color: They are made of four colors. These colors are two complementary pairs. It offers variation since we have four colors that we can use. You can use one color as the dominating color
Color and Meaning
GREEN:
Natural, relaxing, vibrant, hospital, fertile, money (USA)
DARK GREEN
Masculine, luxury
PURPLE
Spiritual, luxury, wealth, elegant, peace, feminism, mystery
ORANGE
Happiness, warmth, enthusiasm, good health, fascination, energizing,
Hinduism, fire, autumn
PINK
Love, affection, baby, flower, feminine, clothing, wedding
GRAY
Neutral, dullness, moody, conservative, diluted version of black color
BLACK
Considered as lack of color. It signifies strength, authority, formality, sophisticated, boldness.
RED
Emotional intense, love, blood, danger, passion, danger, strength, determination,
radiance, romantic, power, importance
BLUE
Peaceful, calm, loyalty, freedom, sincerity, corporate, freedom,
imagination, depression. Second to black to depict power, importance
YELLOW
Happiness, optimistic, confidence, vibrancy, energetic, sickness,
cowardice, mental clarity, spring
WHITE
Clean, purity, sterility, goodness, peace sincerity, perfection, positive,
angelic. Complement other colors
BROWN
Brown is neutral, earthly. It is also the soil color, fertility, autumn, men clothing, luxury.
How to Use Color Combination Settings in Adobe Illustrator
It is easier to create color combination in Illustrator. With this option, you can create groups of color to use in your design. It might interest you to know how to set the right color mode in your document setting before starting your design
Go to Window > Color
Chose any color of your choice in the Color Guide
Go to Edit Color
In the dialog box, chose Edit
Select any combination from the drop down menu. Save any color combination group you chose by using the save icon highlighted.
In choosing color and color combination for your work, think about the printing implication of the design. It is easier to print fewer colors.
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