7 Color Schemes Explained: How to Use the Color Wheel Like a Designer

TL;DR

Color schemes make choosing a brand palette less of a guessing game. Learn how the color wheel connects hues, contrast, and harmony, and when to use seven foundational color combinations in your marketing designs.

Choosing the right colors for your brand is not about picking your favorite hue. It’s not just about findng one color that somehow “feels” right for your brand. It’s about knowing what color captures the essence of your brand and, most importantly, about what colors look good together and convey the right message to the right people. Choosing the right colors for your brand is about understanding color schemes and how they work.

A color scheme or color harmony is about color combinations created using logical relationships between colors. It works based on how colors are positioned on the color wheel.

While color psychology helps identify the right colors based on the emotions you want to evoke, color schemes ensure your design remains legible. They make sure that your designs remain balanced and impactful across marketing channels.

This guide breaks down 7 foundational color schemes based on the color wheel that every marketer and content creator should know. And how to apply them to brand designs.

What is a Color Wheel? (And Why Marketers Need It)

So, what is a color wheel? A color wheel is a circular diagram that displays the relationships between different colors across the visible light spectrum. First developed by Sir Isaac Newton, the color wheel serves as the foundational tool for creating harmonious color schemes in digital and print design.

A standard color wheel consists of 12 main hues broken down into 3 main categories:

• Primary Colors: Base colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors (Red, Yellow, Blue in traditional media; Red, Green, Blue in digital display).
• Secondary Colors: Hues created by mixing equal parts of two primary colors (Orange, Green, Purple).
• Tertiary Colors: Hues formed by combining a primary color with an adjacent secondary color (e.g., Red-Orange, Blue-Green).

RGB vs RYB color wheels in design

The RGB vs RYB color wheel difference is one that confuses non-designers. In short, the RGB color wheel uses red, green and blue as the primary colors and is an additive model. Primarily, the RGB color wheel is used for digital screens.

In contrast, the RYB color wheel uses red, yellow and blue as the primary colors and is a subtractive model. It is primarily used in physical art that involves paint mixing. Several modern applications now involve CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow).

How Color Schemes Impact Brand Design

Color is often the first element an audience notices about your brand. Research shows that color alone influences up to 85% of consumer purchase decisions, making intentional color selection a key marketing strategy.

Whether you are creating a custom logo, business cards, social media ads, or packaging, applying the right color scheme ensures your visuals remain aesthetic and meaningful in every format.

The role of color contrast

Color contrast is a pivotal element to consider when combining two or more colors. Two vibrant colors that look great side by side might end up overwhelming the audience when layered in a design with each color given the same visual weight. On the other hand, poor contrast impacts legibility and thus your message is lost in the void.

So, how do you choose color contrast? Choose high contrast pairings when it comes to maximizing readability for key elements like headers or CTA. Choose low contrast pairings when creating background textures and subtle decorative accents.

The table below shows the effect of different color combinations in web design. Similar rules apply to the legibility of text in any marketing design. 

In short, the right color contrast is beyond an aesthetic choice; it is one that influences the accessibility of your design.

So, now let’s talk about color schemes and how to use them in your designs. 

7 Types of Color Schemes Every Non-Designer Should Know

Color harmonies or color schemes are combinations of two or two or more colors. You arrive at these combinations based on the position of the respective color in the color wheel. The relationship between the colors you choose determines how they look when you place them side by side or against each other. And the key to good design lies in getting this combination right. 

The relationship between two colors can be as simple as how similar they look or how different. On the color wheel, the further you move from the color, the higher the contrast will be. Too much contrast or too little contrast can both affect legibility and the aesthetics of a design. To know how and where to use these ideas, let’s talk about color schemes. 

Before we get there, you will find the terms hue, tint, shade, and tone being used often. In case you do not already know, 

• Hue is the solid color 
• Tint = Hue + White 
• Shade = Hue + Black 
• Tone = Hue + Gray 

The 7 most commonly used color schemes are:

• Monochromatic
• Analogous
• Complementary
• Split complementary
• Triadic
• Tetradic
• Square

1. Monochromatic color scheme 

To understand this one better, you need to understand the extended color wheel that contains the tints and shades of solid colors. 

What is a monochromatic color scheme? When you choose a color palette by progressing vertically on the above color wheel, you get a monochromatic color palette. In other words, this is a combination of one hue along with its tints, tones, or shades. On the whole, this scheme is pleasing to the eye. There is only one main color. So if you have identified the one color that strongly reflects the emotion of the message, monochromatic schemes work. There is no contradicting color that distracts the viewer from the core message. 

A monochromatic color scheme built around your brand color helps put your brand color in the spotlight. These are wonderful options for branding designs. Consistently using them helps customers relate your brand with your brand color. 

KIMP Tip: When you choose a monochromatic color palette, the highest level of contrast is between the color at the center of the monochromatic color wheel and the outermost color in the same vertical section. So, if you are working with a monochromatic color scheme and wondering how to keep the text in the design legible, choose color values that are further apart. 

2. Analogous color scheme 

If you want to break the monotony of monochromatic but wish to keep the combination supple, analogous color schemes are your best bet. How do you choose an analogous color scheme? To come up with an analogous color scheme, you pick one main color on the color wheel along with two colors that lie immediately next to it. These three colors look like a gradual progression, a soft transition from one hue to another. This is what makes this a pleasant color scheme to work with. 

When you have to create gradient backgrounds or when you want to convey a strong theme like nature-inspired designs, you can choose analogous schemes. 

In the above design, pink is the perfect color for the Valentine’s Day theme. But a monochromatic palette would mean less contrast. Instantly drawing attention to the CTA or the focus text (the price in this case) would be difficult while working with monochromatic palettes. But you cannot choose strong colors that break the Valentine theme. That’s where an analogous color like orange can be the right fit. Just enough contrast to draw your attention to the focal element in the design but a harmonious combination that does not break the theme! 

KIMP Tip: Both with Monochromatic and analogous color schemes there is no striking contrast between the colors. So, stay away from these schemes in places like visual data interpretations where you need to show the stark difference between two or more parameters. However, if you have a bar chart or a pie chart that captures parameters with a slight overlap, these schemes might work. 

3. Complementary color scheme 

Colors that lie directly opposite to each other on the color wheel are complementary colors. As we discussed earlier, the contrast increases as you move further away from any color. So, the highest contrast is between complementary colors. That’s both a plus and a minus when you have to use them together.

The high level of contrast helps you create a sense of visual balance when you have to balance visual weights on a page using symmetric balance. Or in other words when you need to represent two different elements with the same weight or priority in the design. 

But given the high level of contrast, when you use these colors in the foreground and background, they end up clashing too much. The result is a design that causes a lot of visual strain. In other words, it feels uncomfortable to read the text if the background color is complementary to the font color. Some complementary pairs look okay but others make your designs look bad. For example, red and green are complementary colors. Here’s how the design turns out if you choose them for the font and background. 

There is good contrast between the hues and so you can read the text clearly, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s the combination that kills the effect here. 

On the other hand, when you use complementary colors next to each other, like in a logo design, they create an aesthetically appealing balance. 

Here is a design that uses a complementary pair – yellow and purple. 

4. Split complementary color scheme 

When you want enough contrast in your design and you need at least three colors to deliver the message with the right emphasis on each element, split complementary schemes come in handy. 

To create a split complementary color palette, choose your main color. Identify its complementary color and choose the two hues that lie on either side of this complementary color. These three colors put together form a split-complementary scheme. 

In the above design, the blue and purple text sections do not clash too much with each other. Therefore it is pleasant to read the copy in the design. The pops of contrasting yellow adds an element of interest. It helps make the design more attractive without breaking the harmony. That’s what split complementary color schemes do. 

KIMP Tip: There is minimal contrast between the colors next to the complementary hue. But the main color you choose has the strongest contrast with each of these colors. So, in the majority of your design where creating a pleasant harmony is important, you can choose the pair with the least contrast. And for the focal elements like the CTA or the hero text or title text, or even text accents you can choose the main color. 

5. Triadic color scheme 

If you had to draw an equilateral triangle on the color wheel, you get a triadic color palette. In other words, a triadic color scheme is one where you choose three different hues that are equally apart. 

You do not have to worry about strong contrast as with complementary colors or weak contrast as with analogous colors. This one combines the best of both worlds.

The just-right contrast here helps you create balance through difference. You get to play with colors of different emotional values and thus keep the design lively and interactive. 

With a triadic color scheme, you are combining both warm and cool tones. Therefore, your design does not appear gloomy or too intense. 

The above example gives equal weights to the two main colors of the design and the green provides the right pop of contrast to draw attention. 

6. Tetradic rectangle color scheme 

Most designers recommend using a maximum of two or three colors in your design. That’s all you need to compartmentalize your content and provide contrast between areas. But when you need more colors than that, a tetradic rectangle color palette is a great choice.

How do you form a tetradic rectangle color scheme? Choose a complementary pair of colors. Now draw a rectangle connecting the colors that lie on either side of these complementary colors. These four colors form a tetradic rectangle color palette. 

There are two pairs here and the contrast within each pair is minimal. But the contrast against each pair is clearly distinguishable. But there is no eye-fatigue-causing contrast as with complementary colors. So, you can maintain the legibility of your text while also getting enough colors to bring your design to life. 

7. Square color scheme

If you want to further soften the contrast in the tetradic rectangle color scheme and create a cheerful color palette then a square color scheme works. As the name indicates, you get this one by drawing a square on the color wheel. These are colors that are evenly spaced out. So, you get subtle contrast along with a mild flavor of harmony that you get with analogous colors. 

KIMP Tip: Since all the colors in this scheme appear to have an equal level of dominance in the design, try varying their visual weights by adjusting the amount in which these colors appear. For example, you can use one of these as the background color and the rest can be used as accents for text sections and the CTA. 

Color Schemes: FAQs

Put an End to Your Color Scheme Confusions With KIMP

Colors, hues, contrast, color schemes, color wheel – we know this can be a bit too much to digest as a non-designer. But now that you have an overview, we are sure that the way you look at your designs will change. And you will understand why your designer has chosen a particular color palette based on the primary color you recommended. Moreover, when you work with a designated design team like Kimp, your rapport with your designers keeps getting better with each design. So, you can be sure that your designer is able to capture the mood and visual theme you expect in your designs. 

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