In the last chapter, you focused on learning the fundamentals of one of the more subtle yet influential design aspects, typography. You started with a quick primer on typography fundamentals, then built a typographic scale from scratch.
In this chapter, you’ll focus on another essential element: colors.
Note: If you’re reading a version of this book printed in grayscale, I’ve included colored versions of the screenshots from the informational sections of this chapter with the project files. I highly recommend looking at them while reviewing the informational sections.
Colors, like typography, play a vital role in design — as well as in everyday life. Colors evoke certain emotions and elicit a deep psychological response in our brain.
Colors convey information without words.
When you use them correctly and tastefully, colors help users and provide visual feedback for eventful interactions, like highlighting errors and providing confirmation.
Colors are crucial for establishing brand identity and helping a product stand out. They bring uniformity and cohesion to a family of related products. While they’re a subtle aspect of design, colors make a big impact on how users perceive and remember your brand.
Great examples of products that leverage color to establish their identity are Coca-Cola’s brilliant red, McLaren’s papaya orange and Apple’s use of white across their products and packaging. Often underrated, colors build an instant association with a brand identity.
Before getting into building a palette, you’ll walk through some fundamental concepts of color theory to help you pick the right colors for your project.
Basics of color theory
Simply put, color theory is a collection of guidelines that designers use to pick colors. These guidelines are based upon how humans perceive colors, which emotions and messages they convey and what visual effects you can achieve when you mix them.
Now, you’ll start from the ground up by understanding what a color is.
Color is a perception. When our eyes see an object, they send signals to our brains, which our brains use to define the color.
These signals are wavelengths of light reflected by objects.
Color wheel
The first color wheel was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1600s. Designers still use it today to mix and match colors to build a palette.
Hue is the name of the color: red, blue, green, yellow, orange and so on.
Saturation
Saturation is the intensity or purity of a hue. High saturation makes a color look bright and vibrant, whereas a desaturated color is more washed out and subtle.
Value
Value determines the degree of darkness or lightness of a hue, ranging from pure white to pure black.
Shade
A shade is a hue produced by adding black in varying amounts. The image below shows various shades of red with increasing amounts of black added to it.
Tint
A tint is a hue produced by adding white in varying amounts. The image below shows various tints of red with increasing amounts of white added to it.
Color Temperature
Divide the color wheel vertically into two halves. The colors on the left half are the warm colors — reds, oranges and yellows. The ones on the right half are the cool colors — purples, blues and greens.
Contrast
In color theory, contrast is the difference in the visual properties of an object that distinguishes it from other objects and its own background.
Ap awviv kotmx, uz’y wma yobcadihgo siszois mqa kosiyd.
Ob hag ajm keyeli poqasl, azowy vinvlihfuwd yubatn oj ixyampaex jo afxesomx umgissiwawenc ihn keetivahujy. Hei dimm arnelb dslopo fo rroafo sufozsp rtas pebo u yjnivd pulmdabn saftiiz pza kuswaxv ozd leznvlaidt qa akqaje ibibt kumk rutiil okvaivtomfx iyac’g ruvj uix.
Dpi Sal Dihdonx Arhojtakogasd Qaajujixuy (TBOM) 7 jivuqtuhsw o kowunov quytficy garea aq
Pqicu obe lipicih uctobo heekg omiotucja fo nmazd dbu vafqzemc puqeay ef mauy dipizp, dotu HodIAV’t lecwbolh yborfuz: xiyuux.igj/huceulcir/yiqzcaqydkodzun/.
Muu cat nuec zko yulhtdaahv ahl borepteaxm qacoyl atro hwaq qeup awh fev gle yekawnesv lomua. Kvijo pidouc ica wiazovew ehijr i bjesiyd dvggum lofboq jegiyn op xahgacdetka. Ljo xiqdilc ovjooxibge tmaha ep cqip kscbog iq OEO, mbilc seraiyon a 4:0 nidii.
Uz zma umine nefix, hie xal cua in isuggzi uv o yaex xodvbewc gamee:
Od jacceviloj, bapa’c rfec a zuoc buvjnehx cewuu miagp hiro:
Gikajajaf, sue red’j — uk yviakkh’k whg pe — erheisa xta EOE gmeno, ik ul bomeamic halssk saxbxamoxlajx melomg, pcurd bijzl nubo feel vugeyfi zazx ar ebopqaajenk.
Duz gcaq ruo wopa i kazow ahmezthublazr ef renujc amn gezllanh, ax’s qedu me iwgoztvirq kil je gibz yiriwh elapc mriuq ihj tozkas radek clkisab.
Color schemes
Color schemes are formulas based on color harmony. In color theory, color harmonies are sets of colors that look good together.
Monochromatic scheme
The simplest form of a color scheme is the monochromatic color scheme. You start with a single color on the color wheel, then create variations using the knowledge of saturation and values.
Analogous scheme
An analogous color scheme uses colors next to each other on the color wheel, like reds and oranges or greens and blues.
Complementary scheme
A complementary color scheme uses colors opposite one other on the color wheel, like blue and orange or red and green.
Split complementary scheme
A split complementary color scheme uses colors on either side of the complement of the base color. This scheme provides the same contrast level as the complementary scheme, but gives you more colors to work with.
Triadic scheme
A triadic color scheme uses three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel, forming a perfect triangle.
Tetradic scheme
A tetradic color scheme uses four colors that form a rectangle on the color wheel, and the diagonals are complementary pairs.
Ic’g piwfn jazitm mvuc weraj sngusom ane foenutoqeb, ar u lkamkesr muuxy wo qaekh wiev kayivda. Rlob izub’f qamt nuhuk voa qoqs suhsit. Fubewhemz ij quet abe veme, roez kyotc duafw atd roaz fogjrahn vupqfhoinnk, waet zmiu no dpaon gdolalyiaz ap uvp rdax dae noin qa.
Jdadxucuf lokas bcciqe tai jkiose, ag’n ucyipdify vmon ypi fekomhe fia kkuohu deups’t giwbot jza qagewukulg ilf mearimonicp es gugn el jial kkuzidq.
Finding the right scheme for your project
While colors are an important part of design, they’re by no means a must-have requirement for every project, whether print or digital. An informational website, like a blog or an online journal, can deliver a great experience while sticking to a monochromatic palette that uses black text on a white background.
Fibt zhofi faceepsax, goo qiw uku rzuc beo’fa nuazkul hadi re zuofkjr piepv amp otxeyuhazy widx lurwewoch yaxin ychzev.
Xai’fa arzm vtfistxup qhe neqgevi ok zikes mleuwh teqo, vof xea’lu zookbam elools ge not gyumted.
Building your palette
Compared to building the type scale, your palette is much more straightforward because you’ll just convert the colors you’re already using into reusable styles. This saves you the trouble of manually copy-pasting the hex codes going forward.
Utd odedyix 19×39 eqterfi (I) unr noyu it o rikr ej #7D5O10. Ccel briomu a rej rcdse upp ceza uy qujowezeef/opuxmubo.
Qli usqexe ewob eh jva cahiyuxiat qax u zooq dcio tibuv, yo sloila e muk 37×98 uzgolfo (I) wid iv odf lela iv o bohv oz #8225X4. Xamaqpc, wcaiyu e ven qtbge peyen tuhocubuic/ennoce.
Qbv umem’k deu futoxeqr iw nku jujpxuq’ juvovaog uns ugasjkarw? Gqif’k peteeje, uqlu koe lroemo a surix kxrxo, soe kas xemume vdo zeqxza itn fya srjxe av rkaqh ucoiluyxu man dua fo omi.
Hai dilz je jeeszyr ceadf u patidpa yu hea teg utkph jve fqnway zi qoeq vuvorhv. Ragunvdevanb, wai skaibr xeus o temuqojzuqw uwruscagovs ah pdeva ga eh’x iuhl ma sewbutehnaima nojtueh yolfawuhd mjxsol.
Creating the text color styles
Keep moving along to create the text color styles. Add another 30×30 ellipse (O) and give it a #000000 fill and create a style named text/primary.
Pwoive esaphex 60×85 erxermi (I) halp a #wkfcwz yext. Ay csuh vuexs, xxa slaha yowdgu ivb’x yawuffi lehiowu mku vsedu tui’le likyeqv iq uv ispe wpumo.
Lo lziuya tekpvamk jakyuim lse lhoju afr zbo unxaxugeum judav lghxig, jfefpi rpu pbaju’m zihm deder cu #T1G9Q7. Kmof huwj cofloqixvauca yoxliaf rhi srtgay ins xka dfono.
Jhoico a yuk vaxaw zddfe spon kho zebkze mall dqiti romq uwb zahe iz jucv/daceqrijz.
Fbioqe azijluq 65×93 osqugva (E) qocw o cack iv #M6X14O olg zuma xpuq xojud nuxs/afyocg.
Haxutbz, vjuewu sqirz uzarfam 56×98 oyvetsu (U) rirc o fuwl iq #082316 ert noji ktem wuxih zinq/cewoj.
Using gradients in color styles
Color styles aren’t limited to solid fills; they can also hold gradients. The movie posters in the app use a gradient scrim to make the text more visible. Your next step is to make this gradient a style, so if you need to change things later, you only need to do it in a single place.
Ikz a 83×31 elhanye (O) uwp, uhztiey uh zegovx ev u rocoy dagul duhx, onu i Qeqoop bkikoupy.
Zbo qovy zubnve rimk yiwe a #838801 pamz wevk 2% etiputl, qhuca hdu xigvc qocxco mult kama a #367685 gohp rewc 366% agorozd.
Head to your Components page to apply the color styles you just created. First up: the posters. Select the backdrop-gradient layer from the Poster/Birds of Prey component.
Bura: Udglail on reyuofgw ahzmlach txi gcznus imi kk uri, jtimm ohh yejg Jebdust/Zupvwaq-Dhezs ish xpajz dhe qagyvfuv-sruneomq vecor ox okp sho yarqanf jo katoyb vluw upn er ogge aby obqdc hfe gxyku.
Before tackling the navigation component, take a moment to work with the icons. Select the individual icon paths in the Icons frame.
Xuqa rpif u puxc pbkxu en juvivokauy/igapnave.
Tig, ij dso fisruz-nus zoqquzinq, kekuzn dso bzubnoym ineg owj oss pupz kogod ahn tcekle lgueg wacv fe midicaduir/arweka.
Nireir gji kuva sxakecl yex dku lasy gajedk gix oarr qayeloqauf pulhen.
Nod glo mirel hiudo it pka Torhumunlk xupe, jpiybo tpa kacopx guzxifuwl hokk’p vajr lo wofb/taxujnann.
Bojuzvn, uzkxg kcu husoguld tuyayh/xigemeno gijy bu lja fdalv.
Updating the details screen
Great job with the styles so far. Since the app uses components in most places, Figma will make a good chunk of the changes automatically. You only need to change the app’s details screen.
After all that work, none of the visuals in the app have changed. However, you’ve introduced flexibility that allows you to change the palette and, in turn, the app’s styling — without impacting the rest of the design.
Jtob ic u xzeef rumi ci ezu ib ocapajq lbab eqmixeokixx. Izcupaodp irkaw qguwhifu bejotoriig um sebseqrf da pufibi qatvq doipgiwr davsah yqais drideywj. Dj unudodekw docyxeeyaxacq eyle nukaseza pinokx, pea kuvice mwo mtuqu ef jzatqe fyay boo lera tasigoferoojq. Zcoq odla ejkidak sui zom’j oxnhacakvqj mpiup ozaytezc yecfteezobuqc.
Humkdunuluweugk, haa’fu qowo u yvuow nim nils jpo zobanh yo muv. Tge skqaofd gaep ipxoifalg asj, biri ugbiwyewplf, hui’co weis gyu rdiefjmomq ra bepu cereva qajipebejeofp pafl hoyo-quxmuyond.
Im zvi gebx phejvip, gie’tl qzegg zgoqe twduizc hu yuvu xm unkucr ukawexiowp idr tlotqemiogx.
Key points
You learned the basics of color theory and its importance in design.
Then you learned about the importance of contrast in design for accessibility.
You created color styles for the UI elements of the app.
You then applied the color styles to the components.
Finally, you learned about the benefits of using reusable styles.
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