Tutorial: Color Theory for Themes
I am an artist, I whisper to myself while editing my theme. No, I donât really code. Iâm amazed by the people who speak the language â I have only a rudimentary understanding of it. I can read and understand whatâs there, but I canât write it myself.
The best themes, however, can be destroyed by poor color choices. My background in art often informs how I color my themes, and it is always careful.
So with hopes of imparting some knowledge as to how you can use color theory to make any theme visually appealing, letâs begin. This only scratches the bare surface of color theory. For an introduction, hereâs a link to the beginning of a series on Color Theory for Designers. Part 2 in particular deals with a lot of what Iâm talking about.
These four things boil down to what I think make a good theme. Visual appeal, though, affects the other three, particularly legibility.
But weâre talking about color, right?Â
Problem: Using Pure Hues as a Dominant Color
When picking a color, itâs going to be the top right hand color. Pure red. Pure blue. These colors are vibrant and loud and quite beautiful â when handled correctly. Pure hues are best utilized as accents with tones dominating the work.
Primary colors are so abused. Most traditional painters worth their salt will tell you that they rarely use color straight from the tube. They always mix these into values. Pure hues dominate everything they touch. Some artists wield these well (Hi, Mondrian) but many would not recommend working primarily with pure hues.
Tones (hue + gray) are beautiful. Most would think they seem muddy â but when well mixed, they can lend a great foundation for a theme.Â
Letâs look at my current theme. Originally, the background was white and gray, but it felt too empty to me.
At first glance, it looks almost brown. Itâs actually a violet.
I picked this color from the artwork I intended to use, after some adjustments. I wanted the art to be the focal point. A nice neutral tone is easy to look at and doesnât draw too much attention to itself.
Here, the colors are more saturated and closer to the pure hue. However:
Even here, I never used a pure hue. A pure red wouldâve been far too harsh, even on a dark background. A you can see, theyâre both similar in tone, but one less shaded and more tinted (the red) and the other is predominantly shaded (the blue).
Balancing these combinations in a theme is essential to visual appeal. An understanding of how primary, secondary, tertiary colors work together and complement one another is also vital.
Complementary colors are found opposite of one another on the color wheel. Blue to orange, violet to yellow, magenta to lime. Thatâs why we see them so much on sports teams and in advertising. Still, it is important to remember values with these.
For more on different types of Color Harmonies, read here.
Tones lend sophistication. They have nuance. They must be carefully chosen. And when it works well, you know it. Using a neutral tone allows other things on the theme to pop â accent colors (usually hues) do well here.Â
Too many hues means you donât know where to look. Our eyes are immediately drawn to these pure, pigmented colors, but when itâs overused, our eyes donât know where to go. If you must use them, use them sparingly. A garnish for your theme, if you will.
If text ever makes you see double, you need to change it. This happens when contrast is too high. Let one color (or even black and white) tone down if you want to feature an accent.Â
Another thing we see often is this common trifecta:
While less offensive than overusing a pure hue, using black, white and a pure hue can also be painful. Ever try to read lime green text on a black background? Black and white themes are all well and good â they can be sleek and attractive â but beware giving a pure hue equal weight in such a theme.
The moral of the story for theme makers, editors and artists:
Donât be afraid to get muddy. Explore neutrals and tones. Push yourself beyond the instinct to use pure hue on everything. Play with color balance and harmonies. You wonât always get a look you like, but you will learn to wield color responsibly.
Donât know where to start? Take a look a palettes from COLOURlovers.
These are not hard and fast rules, but hopefully it will help you take more risks with your theme color choices a palette that is most pleasing.
