- Designers often use pairs of colors
for corporate branding projects.
Or for print jobs, there are limited two colors of ink.
Or, when they're just aiming for the simplicity
of a powerful two color palette.
So, let's talk about these two color palettes.
This emblem style logo, it's going to be our guinea pig
for all the color schemes we'll be looking at.
We'll start by coloring it with pairs of hues
that are meant to convey themselves energetically.
When I'm looking for energy
I usually go for the warmer side of the color wheel,
for at least one of my two colors.
So, how about a bright red?
I'm going to pair it with a vibrant red-orange.
That is an energetic palette.
But, I can see already that we've hit a snag.
These two colors just don't show up very well
next to each other.
They're too close in value.
So, let's lighten the red-orange
and darken the red, just slightly.
That's much better already.
And what about making the red-orange
even lighter, to increase contrast.
Now, you'd think this might help
but, you know what, I think it actually takes us
in the wrong direction since this light
red-orange has kind of an Easter bunny pastel
look to it and that's not the kind of energy that
I'm aiming for.
So, let's go back to where we just were.
The two bright colors we've been working with
come from nearby spots on the color wheel
which is fine, but I will say that what they convey,
in terms of energy, they lack in terms of diversity.
So, on the other hand, if we were aiming for a blend
of energy and diversity, then we might go
with something different.
So, let's try this.
Let's keep our bright red-orange
and replace the red with a wide range of other
high-energy hues.
So, here are six examples of energetic color combos
that also deliver feelings of diversity.
Palettes like these can work well for companies
and organizations that are looking to express
themselves in an especially dynamic way,
you know, athletic teams, fitness clubs,
kids toy manufacturers, and so on.
One thing these kinds of palettes often lack
are feelings of sophistication.
And that's because these color combos come across
like two voices that are both shouting, fairly loudly,
harmoniously, yeah, but loudly.
So, let's see what happens when we leave the red-orange
bright and we quiet down all the other hues
by muting them.
Now, that's a whole different range of looks,
wouldn't you say?
And here, I'll swap out the red-orange
with six other bright colors, some warm
and some cool.
Color combos like these often work well
for corporate branding projects
because what feels like a sophisticated blend
of two different color ideas.
We've got bright versus muted,
and at the same time, lighter versus darker.
What about going further and adding black
to the mix?
Designers often include black with pairs
of corporate colors, as well as white.
Another thing that's often done with colored printing inks
and when using black, is to include lighter shades
of all these ink colors, which, in terms of color,
that just means you're expanding each color
to include their monochromatic relatives.
So, yes, turns out you can do quite a lot
with just three colors of ink, if you want to.
And last, let's look at combinations
where all the hues are muted.
These are color schemes that aren't necessarily
meant to scream for attention but rather to show up
on the scene, you know, with looks that can range from
gritty and urban to understated and elegant,
to natural and earthy.
There, we just looked at 36 color combos for one
logo design and it didn't take us that long.
Digital helpers like Illustrators Color Guide
and the Color Picker, that you can get from both
Illustrator and Photoshop, and online aides
like Paletteton, make this kind of creative exploration
really easy and really quick.
So, be sure to explore your options thoroughly
the next time you're coming up with intriguing
and attractive pairs of colors.