RGB: the additive color mixing model Additive color mixing. So, a very important part of your branding must focus on color. 90% of that decision is based solely on color. People decide whether or not they like a product in 90 seconds or less. When you’re strolling down the soft drink aisle scanning the shelves filled with 82 million cans and bottles and trying to find your six-pack of Coke, what do you look for? The scripted logo or that familiar red can?

Our brains pick up on those wavelength combinations and translate them into the phenomenon we call color.

Objects reflect light in different combinations of wavelengths. Our eyes see something (the sky, for example), and data sent from our eyes to our brains tells us it’s a certain color (blue). 90% of that decision is based solely on color.Ĭolor is perception.

CMYK: the subtractive color mixing model.

So why should you care about color theory as an entrepreneur? Why can’t you just slap some red on your packaging and be done with it? It worked for Coke, right?Ĭolor theory will help you build your brand. In color theory, colors are organized on a color wheel and grouped into 3 categories: primary colors, secondary colors and tertiary colors. Color theory also involves the messages colors communicate and the methods used to replicate color. It explains how humans perceive color and the visual effects of how colors mix, match or contrast with each other. But for really young ones, these are the simple ideas that I focused on over the years.Color theory is both the science and art of using color. Lessons get more complex if you continue learning about color theory. Secondary colors are colors that result from mixing two primary colors. They would most likely overwhelm those that are just starting out.ĭo you need a quick overview about colors? Primary colors are colors that can’t be mixed from other colors. Color wheels that include tertiary and analogous colors are designed more for middle, if not high school. Searching for a primary color wheel to explain these ideas can lead to lot of complex examples that are all over the internet. Learning how to group colors together and think about the qualities that each has is part of the artistic growth process. Even kindergarteners can absorb the idea that blue, like the ocean, is a cool color and red, like fire, is a warm color. It’s never too early to start adding a very basic color wheel to art lessons for elementary students. That’s plenty to focus on when you are just starting to learn about color. It has just one easy-to-read graphic that shows the primary and secondary colors, and where the warm and cool colors are. This primary color wheel was created to keep color concepts very basic for early elementary students.

Seasonal & Holiday Drawing Ideas Expand.

Primary colors in the color wheel