Colour Palettes
A colour palette refers to the range of colours that complement each other and are consistent throughout a design. It typically consists of 5 colours, labelled as primary, secondary, accent, and shades of black and white. A colour palette helps to make your online content unique. It can make an online post recognisable to your organisation. Colours set the tone of your message and can tailor your design towards your target audience.
Monochromatic colour schemes use a single colour with varying shades and tints to produce a consistent look and feel. Although it lacks colour contrast, it often ends up looking very clean and polished. It also allows you to easily change the darkness and lightness of your colours.
Analogous colour schemes are formed by pairing one main colour with the two colours directly next to it on the colour wheel. You can also add two additional colours (which are found next to the two outside colours) if you want to use a five-color scheme instead of just three colours.
You may have guessed it, but a complementary colour scheme is based on the use of two colours directly across from each other on the colour wheel and the relevant tints of those colours.
A split complementary scheme includes one dominant color and the two colors directly adjacent to the dominant color’s complement. This creates a more nuanced color palette than a complementary color scheme while still retaining the benefits of contrasting colors.
Triadic colour schemes offer high contrasting colour schemes while retaining the same tone. Triadic colour schemes are created by choosing three colours that are equally placed around the colour wheel.
Also called the tetradic colour scheme, the rectangle approach is similar to its square counterpart but offers a more subtle approach to colour selection.
The square colour scheme uses four colours equidistant from each other on the colour wheel to create a square or diamond shape. While this evenly-spaced colour scheme provides substantial contrast to your design, it’s a good idea to select one dominant colour rather than trying to balance all four.
Accessibility is important to remember when designing online content. An accessibility checker ensures teh contrasts of the colour palette is accessible for the visually impaired.
How to Use Colour
Often used in home design, the 60-30-10 rule is also useful for website or app design.
- 60%: primary or main color
- 30%: secondary colors
- 10%: accent colors
While you’re certainly not limited to using just three colours, this framework will provide balance and ensure your colours work together seamlessly.
What may look good to you, may be difficult to read for others. Some things to consider when asking for feedback:
- Are the CTAs generating attention?
- Are the colours you chose distracting?
- Is there enough colour contrast?
- Is the copy legible?
Getting another set of eyes on your design will help you spot errors or inconsistencies you may have missed in the creation process. Take their feedback in stride and make adjustments where needed.
Colours set the tone of the message. Red can signify warmth, love and health. It can also signify heat, danger and anger. Chose colours intentionally.
Consider colour contrast when selecting colours. Some colours can clash and be irritating for the eyes when put next to each other. Refer to the colour palettes below to understand colour contrast better.
Colouring In Tools
Here are some useful tools to help you create and experiment with your own colour palettes.
