In today’s competitive business landscape, you need good graphic design to survive.

Many entrepreneurs take it upon themselves to create the visuals for their business as a way to save money but without the proper know-how, this approach might be more costly down the road as valuable time will be wasted on visuals that you audience just doesn't connect with.

As a business leader, it’s important to have a strong grasp on some basic graphic design concepts to ensure that your visuals are working for you and not against you— even if you’re not the one creating them.

A good place to start is to familiarize yourself with Colour Theory.

What is Colour Theory?

In its simplest form, colour theory looks at how colour can affect consumer perceptions, moods, and behaviours.

Don’t be too quick to dismiss its importance as nearly 85% of consumers state that color alone is a primary reason for buying something.

Now, this doesn’t mean that if you only change your branding colours, your sales will go through the roof. Instead, think of color theory as a tool you can use to strengthen your brand identity. This is what ultimately engages your target audience.

Below are three ways you can use colour theory to get your small business ahead of the competition!

1. Influence Customer Perception Using Colour Symbolism

Colours aren’t just for show- each one is symbolic of a feeling or concept in society. Green is associated with nature, yellow with happiness, and so on.  

The point being that you need to consider these meanings when choosing your branding colours. For instance, if you want your brand to feel optimistic and happy but you choose black and red as your main colours— it won't be as effective in creating those specific feelings compared to yellow or green.

Choosing colours that are consistent with what you want your brand to represent is necessary if you want your audience to easily connect with you.

Below is a Color Emotion Guide by ‍London Image Institute to help you understand this concept further.

2. Direct Attention Using Colour

When you look at a newspaper, the first thing you notice is the headline. The dark, bold, and big font is purposely used to quickly grab your attention so that you pick it up.

In the same sense, the visual content you create needs to be captivating enough to get your audience to stop scrolling and interact with your brand instead. Otherwise, you risk your business' growth.

One sure-fire way to grab attention is with eye-catching colours.

A study by HubSpot revealed that red CTA buttons outperformed green ones by 21%. That’s because red is one of the most visible colours to the human eye, alongside yellow and orange.

So, if you want to encourage conversions, ensure to pair strong copy with things like vibrant CTA buttons, background, border, pop-ups, menu bars, and logos.

3. Use The Colour Wheel to Avoid Making Unattractive Visuals

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The Colour Wheel is a powerful tool that you can use when designing visuals to easily see what colours look good together.

The wheel showcases primary colours (blue, red, and yellow), secondary colours (green, orange, and violet), and tertiary colours (the multiple colours on the inside of the wheel above).

Different colour schemes emerge out of the colour wheel, which are useful for creating stunning and engaging visuals. The four basic schemes are:

Monochromatic

This involves choosing a single colour for your design. For example, using different shades of blue. A monochromatic scheme is a great option if you want to create a cohesive image. However, be cautious as this scheme can come across as boring if not executed right.

Analogous

This scheme involves choosing colours that are found beside each other on the colour wheel. Since the colours blend well with each other, this scheme is a great choice if you want to create a calming or harmonious feeling with your visuals.  

Complementary

This scheme involves using the colours that are directly opposite of each other on the colour wheel. Think orange and blue. Even though they’re extremely different, the two balance each other out and create a nice contrast that pulls viewers in. Complementary colours appear brighter when together, so they are an excellent choice if you want to quickly grab your viewers’ attention.  

Triadic

This colour scheme takes three hues that are evenly spaced on the wheel to form a high contrasting palette... and a triangle. For orange, blue, and pink. Triadic schemes are a great option if you want to create playful and lively visuals.  

Conclusion

Learning basic graphic design concepts, like colour theory, will help you make powerful and effective branding decisions that can help your business level-up!

Need help applying your graphic design ideas? Kärna’s experts are here to help you build a strong graphic design foundation and bring your dream visuals to life!

Contact us today