What is color theory?

In product design, color isn't just a decorative element. Designers use color strategically to communicate compelling messages, influence users’ emotions, and shape perceptions about a brand. Once you know the basics of color theory, you can design color schemes that boost engagement—and the bottom line.

Read on to learn more about:

• What color theory is and how it helps your design.
• How to read a color wheel and spot three main types of colors.
• Seven harmonious color schemes you can achieve with color mixing.
• How to apply color theory to your color palette with Figma.

What is color theory?

Color theory helps artists, graphic designers, and product teams figure out how colors work together to achieve color harmony. This framework helps creatives choose a color palette that stirs up emotions, leaving a lasting impact on audiences.

How color theory works

To see color theory at work, check out the home screen of your favorite app. The colors on screen weren't chosen at random. App designers had to consider how different colors work together for user engagement and accessibility. A palette generator can help designers explore color palettes—but how do you know when you've found the right one? Color theory breaks down how colors work in harmony, so designers can make color choices that appeal to users and elevate the brand.

Why does color theory matter?

Designers who apply color theory see three main benefits:

• Impactful visual design. Color theory can guide you to use contrasting colors to grab your audience’s attention, or strike a color balance for enduring visual appeal.
• Improved UX. Color harmony can support user workflows, making it easier to scan content and navigate your product’s UI.
• Better brand expression. The right color palette can help you showcase your brand personality, message, and mood.

3 main types of color on a color wheel

Color theory uses a color wheel to define three main color types:

1. Primary colors, which are red, yellow, and blue (RYB). When combined, primary colors serve as the base for all other colors.
2. Secondary colors, which include orange, green, and violet. Secondary colors are two primary colors mixed together (e.g., red + yellow = orange).
3. Tertiary colors, which result from mixing a primary color with a secondary color. Tertiary colors include red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet.

The color wheel’s origins

Finnish astronomer and priest Aron Sigfrid Forsius created the very first color wheel in the early 1600s. But that wheel only included red, yellow, green, blue, and gray pigments. The modern color wheel as we know it comes from Sir Isaac Newton’s experiments with light. By shining sunlight through a prism, Newton noted a rainbow of colors. He plotted them on a color spectrum wheel in his groundbreaking 1704 book Opticks. This laid the foundation for color theory, with the color wheel as its centerpiece.

7 harmonious color schemes

Color schemes combine two or more colors to produce overall visual harmony. To find a color combination that suits your brand and design goals, consider these seven tried and true color schemes.

1. Analogous color scheme

Create a color family of three colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel (e.g., blue, blue-green, and green). Choose one as your main color, a second as your supporting color, and a third as your accent color.

2. Monochromatic color scheme

Monochromatic schemes rely on shades and tints of a single color to create a cohesive, unified look. Many monochromatic schemes range from black to gray, but some brands focus on another color—think of Barbie® pink.

3. Complementary color scheme

Find two colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel, like yellow/purple, red/green, or blue/orange: those are complementary colors. Sports franchises often use high-contrast complementary colors so that team colors are visible from across the stadium.

4. Split-complementary color scheme

This variation includes a base and complementary color, plus the two colors on each side of the complementary color. This gives designers a broader palette to work with, but balance is key to avoid clashing colors.

5. Triadic color scheme

Three colors are evenly spaced around the color wheel in this combination. Pick a dominant color along with two accent colors to create vibrant and balanced designs. Firefox provides a striking example, with its orange-yellow-purple brand color scheme.

6. Tetradic color scheme

This color scheme forms a rectangle on the color wheel that connects two sets of complementary pairs, balancing cool and warm tones. Tetradic doubles down on contrast and balance for maximum visual drama—think of Slack's red/green and yellow-orange/sky blue color combo.

7. Square color scheme

This color scheme also puts four colors together, but it forms a square (not a rectangle) on the color wheel. Square color schemes offer rich and diverse color combinations, with some fine-tuning to keep colors in check.

The psychology of color temperature

Leading brands apply color psychology to create color combinations that connect deeply with their customers’ thoughts and feelings. Companies like Coca-Cola and Red Bull use warm colors like red to convey energy, passion, and excitement. Brands like IBM and Blue Shield use cool colors like blue to promote trust and a sense of calm. Brands with a strong signature color often use neutral colors such as black, white, and gray as background or accent shades.

Fine-tuning color hue, value, and saturation

Color theory helps you adjust three key color elements: hue (color), value (how much shading a color has), and saturation (color intensity). On advanced color wheels, you can see the hues, values, and saturation levels associated with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.

Want to see how this works in practice? Find a saturated or vivid red hue, and try applying it to a message. A bold, saturated red might make your message look like a warning. Try adjusting its saturation and value to tone it down. But if you choose a very dull or light red, your message might not be easy to read. You may want to adjust the background colors for contrast and accessibility.

RGB vs. CMYK: What’s the difference?

RGB is an additive color model that relies on red, green, and blue to create over 16 million possible colors for web and digital designs. Meanwhile, CMYK uses subtractive colors that absorb light—cyan, magenta, yellow, and black—to generate 16,000-plus color combinations for print production. Designing a mobile app? Use RGB to create compelling screens. Creating a physical billboard or business cards? Go with CMYK for clear, crisp colors.

Finesse your color palette with Figma

Whether you're working on a brand refresh or new product launch, Figma’s professional design resources can help you design your brand color palette. You can hammer out your design goals with FigJam’s online collaborative whiteboard, and apply Figma's research templates to collect user research and stakeholder input for your designs.

Looking for inspiration? Check out the expert color theory tutorials and examples shared by Figma's design community—including Oscar Sun’s popular color theory kit.