Raleigh Color Story Series, pt. IV

We’ve come to the final installment of this color palette series, and I saved my favorite building for last. I’ve always had a thing for ghost signs, and this one is no exception. Not to mention the artful combination of pale peach with a faded minty blue and the pop of warm burnt-orange on the trim and brick showing through the chipped paint. This is a color palette that shows the harmony of reserved neutrals with one pop of color. Emotionally, it evokes feelings of security and stability because the majority of the system is based on “safe” shades. The burnt-orange would work well to draw the eye to important call-outs or details in a design without being overbearing or taking away from the stability of the blue-greens and peach-y beige.

What did you all learn from this series? Have any more color palette questions that I didn’t cover in this post?

Sarah

Raleigh Color Story Series, pt. III

I’ve always thought this was one of the most beautiful buildings in Raleigh. This color palette is another example of how well complementary colors play with neutrals. Red and green sit opposite on the color wheel, and blue sits between them. If this palette had, for example, a yellow thrown in, it would be a triad color palette. Triad palettes are tricky to pull off, because they can become busy and unbalanced if executed incorrectly. This color palette works harmoniously together as-is, and would work well for a brand that wants to communicate traditional values and dependability.

We’ll be wrapping up this series with next week’s post! Have you learned anything new about color theory? Let me know!

Sarah

Raleigh Color Story Series, pt. II

This color palette was no accident, but it’s worth noting how well the colors here work in harmony. The reason this system works is because dark, dusty blue sits directly opposite the color wheel from the rust orange. The color theory term for this is complementary. The colors play nicely together because they are exact opposites. The contrast between the warmer hues in this palette balances visually with the cooler blue hues. If this color palette were applied to a brand, the dusty blue would be a great workhorse, against which the rust orange would add a wonderful punch for design elements that need to catch the eye. The paler shades would carry well as secondary background and accent shades. Emotionally, this palette reads as peaceful and balanced because there are calming neutral tones in addition to the balanced complementary shades.

Part three is coming up next week!

Sarah

Raleigh Color Story Series, pt. I

I’m starting a four-part series documenting and exploring color palettes found around Downtown Raleigh, NC. When a scene like this catches my eye, I stop and marvel at the fact that perfect color palettes can sometimes happen by chance. I realized these would be a great way to explain some basic color theory, an extremely important element in designing a brand identity. The emotional response produced by certain colors and the way they work together is part science, part magic.

I’ll explain why this particular color palette works so well:

First, let’s think back to the color wheel that we all learned about in Elementary School Art Class. There’s a certain theory to the way colors on the wheel work in harmony. In this example, the colors ranging from blue to mauve to pink all sit next to each other on the color wheel. We call these colors analogous. The colors work in harmony together because they’re similar, yet different enough to give some contrast. The pinks are warm colors and blues are cool, so there is enough tension to keep things visually interesting. If this were applied to a visual brand identity system, there would be enough variation to have plenty of room to apply the colors to design elements in interesting ways. There would be room to pull out different colors in a variety of brand photography, typography treatments, and of course, logo and sub-mark options.

Stay tuned for the next post in the series!

Sarah