Understanding color theory requires serious study and experimentation. Spend some time mixing paint or creating your own color wheel from scratch and you’ll quickly discover just how complicated — and frustrating — it can be. Color theory is a very deep subject that is rich in principles, history and abstraction. It begins with understanding the difference between additive color and subtractive color. Additive color is the mixing of light while subtractive color is the mixing of pigments or paint, ink, etc. Both have different rules and behaviors which, to the novice, can cause confusion. And that’s just the beginning.
Once you understand the differences between additive and subtractive color you can move on to the study of color harmony, warm versus cool colors, achromatic colors, tints and shades, split primary colors… and the list goes on. If you’re a web designer applying this knowledge to your designs can then lead to a variety of new challenges: matching hexadecimal colors with the colors generated in your Photoshop or Illustrator files, creating color combinations that adhere to content accessibility guidelines and simply deciding which colors to use for links and their active, hover and visited states. Color is complicated. When it is used successfully it can produce extraordinary effects that enhance your designs both emotionally and in terms of usability. When used poorly you create aversion.
If you’re just beginning to investigate color theory, but would like to successfully apply color to your designs immediately then turn to nature. Nature knows how to use color better than anyone. Observe the color schemes found in flowers, insects, birds, animals, etc. and apply them to your designs. This will allow you to immediately begin using color with excellent results, plus it will enhance your study of color theory. You’ll be surprised when you discover that all of the best color combinations are found in nature. Naturally.
Here are a few examples:
