Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.We see that colors are everywhere. Colors form powerful connections with our emotions. They play a very important role in the way we perceive objects around us. They evoke responses like calmness, anger and energy in us. In the same way they are important for content creators too. One of  the aspects of a course that influences user experience significantly is the use of colors in the course.  In e-learning, colors have a psychological impact on the users. Multimedia and colors have a symbiotic relationship. The success of a video often depends on the type of colors used in the video. Hence, Color theory needs to be understood to play around with colors. Here are a few points to keep in mind while choosing colors.

Think back to what you learnt at school. Primary and secondary colors ring a bell? If we combine these colors with one another then we get the color wheel. 

COLOR THEORY

One can come up with many color combinations after experimenting. These permutations are known as Color Harmony. This can be of many types: 

  • Monochromatic – only one color from the color wheel is used
  • Analogous – Colors that are next to each other
  • Complementary – In this colors are opposite to each other in the color wheel
  • Split complementary – Use colors which are on either side of complementary colors in the color wheel
  • Triadic – In this three colors are evenly spaced
  • Tetradic – In this one color is dominant

Also, explained below are the emotions that are evoked when a particular color is used in content creation.

  • Red – sense of urgency
  • Green – sense of good health
  • Blue – sense of peace
  • Orange & Yellow – sense of optimism
  • Purple – sense of royalty & class
Explore colors and experiment with the color palette. Stop when you see something you like. Get inspiration from nature and from your surroundings. Observe mindfully and you will notice the play of colors in almost everything that you see. Choose your brand color with care. Brand identity includes core elements like logo type, brand marks, typography, illustrations, icons, characters, slogans and most importantly color. This is highlighted by Walter Moore in How colors play an important role in marketing and branding. Do read up and apply your learnings to your course content.