How to Match Colors in Graphic Design

whether the overall feeling of packaging color is gorgeous or simple depends on the overall tone of packaging color. The total hue is directly reflected by hue, lightness and purity, a basic color attribute. Such as bright tone, dark high tone, fresh tone, gray tone, cold tone, emphasis, weak tone, soft training, hard tone, heavy tone and so on.

besides hue, lightness and purity, the color area is an important factor that directly affects the hue. Color matching first considers the arrangement of large-area colors, which have long-distance visual effects in packaging and display. In addition, when the contrast between two colors is too strong, the area of one color can be enlarged or reduced without changing hue, purity and lightness.

Visibility refers to the clarity of color matching levels. Good visibility is very important in visual communication design such as packaging and advertising. On the one hand, visibility depends on the striking degree of color itself, on the other hand, it depends on the contrast between colors. Its principle and method are also introduced in detail in advertising design, which can be used for color design of packaging and decoration with reference to its content.

emphasis color is the key color in the overall tone, and it is the color that combines area factor and visibility. Generally, it is required that the lightness and uniformity are higher than the surrounding colors, and the area is smaller than the surrounding colors, otherwise it will not play an emphasis role.

the use of interval color refers to the use of another color in the middle of different adjacent colors that are in strong contrast, such as interval or * * *, which can strengthen coordination and weaken contrast. The interval color itself is mainly neutral black, white, gray, gold and silver. If there is a color interval, it is required that the interval color is quite different from the separated color in hue, lightness and purity.

gradation is a gradual change, and the color, hue, lightness and purity can be changed gradually. Gradient color has a harmonious and rich color effect, which is widely used in color processing of packaging.

Contrast color is different from strong color matching, which is a color with similar area but contrasting hue brightness. This color has a strong visual effect, so it is advertising.

this is a conceptual color that does not directly imitate the color characteristics of the content, but is applied as an example according to the common understanding of consumers. Mainly used for the expression of a certain spiritual attribute of a product or the expression of a certain brand idea. For example, the packaging of Chinese cigarettes has chosen the color symbolizing the Chinese nation-red.

The logo color mentioned here is not the color of the trademark, but the color used to distinguish the packaging of different kinds or similar products. For example, different colors are used to distinguish the packaging colors of different components of the same brand of daily chemicals. In treatment, the area, shape and position should be changed.

this is the opposite of the emphasis color, and it is an auxiliary color method to adjust the overall tone or emphasis color, so as to strengthen the tone level and obtain rich color effects. In the design process, we should pay attention not to usurp the host's role and abuse it blindly.

first, the grasp of color skills

color skills should be paid attention to from the following points: first, the relationship between color and packaging; The second is the contrast between color and color itself. These two points are the key points in the application of color.

(a), color and packaging care

So, as the color and packaging care relationship, where should we start? Mainly through the external packaging color can reveal or reflect the internal packaging items. People can basically perceive or associate with what the inner packaging is when they look at the outer packaging. For this problem, the author has mentioned it many times in the past articles, but if we can go into the store and look at the goods, many goods fail to reflect this kind of care relationship. So that consumers can't think about what the packaged goods are from the outside to the inside. Of course, it will not play a positive role in promoting sales of products. The color of normal external packaging should grasp such a same feature to varying degrees;

(1) From the perspective of the industry, the main colors of food are yellow and pink, which gives people a sense of warmth and closeness. Of course, many teas are green, many drinks are green and blue, many wines and cakes are red, and many children's foods are rose. The main colors of daily cosmetics are mostly rose, pink, light green, light blue and dark brown, which highlights the warmth and elegance. Clothing, shoes and hats are mostly dark green, dark blue, brown or gray.

From the performance characteristics, as far as food is concerned, cakes and snacks are mostly golden, yellow and light yellow, which gives people the impression that they are fragrant. Tea, beer and other drinks are mostly red or green, which symbolizes the richness and fragrance of tea; Tomato juice and apple juice are mostly red, which shows the natural properties of the item. Although some packages don't look like the colors with similar commodity attributes as mentioned above from the main color, if the design of the package is written by an expert, then there must be a symbolic color block, color point, color line or concentrated content highlighted by this color in the picture of its outer packaging. This should be everyone's masterpiece. Many such examples can be found in the packaging of some clothes, some cosmetics and even some wine.

(II) Contrast between colors

Besides, the contrast between colors. This is the easiest thing to express but very difficult to grasp in many commodity packaging. From the master in the design, the wound effect of packaging is spring snow, on the contrary, it is the next Liba people. There is a popular saying in China's calligraphy and painting, that is, impenetrable, sparse and happy. In fact, it is a kind of contrast. This contrast is very obvious and common in packaging design. Generally speaking, these contrasts include the following aspects: the depth of color use, the weight of color use, the point of color use, the complexity of color use, the elegance and vulgarity of color use, the contrast of color use and so on.

(1) Contrast of shades of colors. This is the most frequent and widely used color in packaging design at present. It is very common in many graphic designs (referring to posters, hanging paintings or situation binding). The so-called depth contrast should mean that the two colors in the design color skillfully appear on a picture at the same time, resulting in a more harmonious perspective effect. Usually, a large area of light-colored bedding is used, and a dark composition is used on it, such as a light yellow bedding, and a brown composition is used, or a light yellow or white pattern line is used in a brown color block; It is also like using a light green bedding; Dark green composition; Pink bedding; Big red composition; Light gray bedding; Soap black composition, such as light yellow bedding, with brown composition, or use light yellow or white pattern lines in brown color blocks; It is also like using a light green bedding; Dark green composition; Pink bedding; Big red composition; Light gray bedding; Soap black composition and so on. These are the shades of color. In packaging design, we can use this form on some cosmetics packaging or some western wine packaging, especially the wine packaging in Western Europe. Changyu wine in China, sausage in Shuanghui way and meat products packaging of CJ are mostly expressed in this form. This form of packaging is also common in Japan and Taiwan Province, South Korea. Its visual effect is bright, simple, gentle and simple.

(2) The contrast of color use (or depth contrast) is also one of the important reproduction techniques in the use of packaging colors. This light and heavy contrast often sets off a dignified and deep theme pattern with a light and elegant background color, or in a dignified and deep theme pattern (mostly focusing on color block patterns). The theme and name of the light and elegant packaging, as well as the trademark or advertising language. Conversely, a large area of dignified and deep pigment is also used to lay the foundation. In addition, some patterns are decorated with light and elegant colors or concentrated in a certain color block or comprehensively. In this kind of light and heavy contrast, general pigments have coordinated color contrast and cold and warm color contrast, and the method of coordinated color contrast is often light green to dark green; Light yellow versus dark coffee; Pink is red, while the contrast between cold and warm colors is mostly black and white, red and blue.

(3) Point-to-surface ratio (or size contrast) of color use, mainly in the design process of a packaging picture, uses the contrast of pigment from a center or a concentrated point to the whole picture, that is, the contrast between a small area and a large area. In our daily life, especially in the washing and cosmetic products, we can see that there is nothing clean in the whole area on the packaging box of a product, but there is a very obvious small square with heavy color (or oval or small circle) in the middle, and then the theme of the brand and name of the packaging content is reflected from the picture of this small square, which is not only the combination of point and surface, but also the contrast between big and small, and occasionally the contrast from point to point.

(4) Comparison of complexity and simplicity in color use. We can see Uni-President 1 instant noodles. On their packaging bags, the bottom half is the physical design of each miscellaneous instant noodle, while on the top of its screen is the whole clean big green and red color, and then the word "1" is prominently highlighted, and then look at the cover of the 66th issue of Packaging World magazine (also called the packaging of books). It is very complicated to lay the foundation with a large-scale straw photo, even the word packaging world is complicated, but the center of the front picture shows a clean round blank. In it, it is marked "This print will expand its edition and increase its capacity in 2" and "Welcome to subscribe to the local post office". It's so simple and simple, but it shows the ideological focus that the magazine needs to express most independently. I have also seen a dumpling packaging bag and a seasoning packaging bag in the store. The whole picture uses green, black and yellow pigments and interweaves them on one picture, that is, I want to show that the trademark is forced to be intolerant, and I want to show the name, and I also want to show the foil pattern. As a result, because of the complicated design in a large area, there is no dark lining pattern with any practical significance, and all the above-mentioned subjects should be diluted and drowned, resulting in a kind of psychological depression and annoyance of this packaging.

(5) The contrast between elegance and desire in the use of color is mainly to highlight vulgar characters and contrast their elegance. This vulgar expression is carried out with the "dirty" color disorder and disorder (in fact, it is unique, and some western oil paintings are very concerned about this expression-modern abstract art). This kind of composition either reveals the theme symbolically or serves the theme of "setting off the lotus". Make it a little red among the flowers. For example, on a packaging screen, it seems that a mess of colors are piled up or thrown on it carelessly. Then quietly aside or in the clever place clear out the theme of the pattern. This is a very interesting thing. In addition to packaging, even book binding, advertisements, posters on posters, and leisure columns on TV have tried this.

(6) Contrast of color use. This contrast is essentially a contrast effect formed by the differences of various pigments themselves. This contrast effect is usually manifested in the following ways: the contrast between light and shade (or the contrast between yin and yang), like China's easy-to-light picture; Cold and warm contrast, such as the contrast between red and blue; Dynamic and static contrast, such as the contrast between elegant and calm background and lively and jumping patterns and characters: the contrast between light and heavy, such as the contrast between deep pigment and light pigment, and so on.

The comparison of these colors is simply a way for a pattern to be expressed through the comparison of different colors, but this pigment is an indispensable object for the whole packaging pattern elements, and some patterns are even ingenious combinations of different pigments. Therefore, in the process of studying packaging design, if we do not pay attention to the contrast between color and color itself, it is impossible to design a good packaging pattern.

When people's visual organs observe objects, in the first 2 seconds, color perception accounts for 8%, while its modeling only accounts for 2%; Two minutes later, color accounts for 6% and modeling accounts for 4%; Five minutes later, 5/5. Subsequently, the impression of color remains in people's visual memory. The main color of good commodity packaging will be particularly eye-catching, which will induce consumers to think of the exquisite and moving goods through the harmonious commodity packaging, thus generating the desire to buy. Therefore, enterprises should pay attention to the important role of color when designing commodity packaging, so that packaging designers can try their best to design colors that meet the identity of commodities and can quickly grasp the eyes of consumers, so as to improve the competitiveness of enterprises' commodities in sales. Smart commodity packaging designers use this effect to design personalized colors that can quickly catch consumers' attention in the market in order to attract consumers' attention.

Pay attention to the promotion of commodity packaging color to commodity sales

The color of commodity packaging will stimulate people's physiology and psychology. The ancients said that "looking at plums to quench thirst" was because people saw the bright and dripping color of plums in the painting, which made people yearn for it psychologically and reacted physiologically. In food packaging, the use of bright colors such as pink, orange and orange can emphasize the fragrance, sweet smell, taste and taste of food. Chocolate, cereal and other foods are mostly warm colors such as gold, red and brown, giving people a fresh, delicious and nutritious feeling. Tea packaging is green, giving people a fresh and healthy feeling. The packaging of cold drink food is blue and white with cool feeling and snow feeling, which can highlight the freezing and hygiene of food. Tobacco and alcohol foods often use elegant and simple colors to give people a sense of harmony. Only in this way can the product packaging design continuously improve to a new level and sublimate to a certain new grade, and can it play an important and positive role in promoting commodity promotion under the market economy.

1. Customary colors of packaging cartons

Colors will have a strong psychological reflection on consumers and make them associate with each other. This should be fully taken into account when using colors. Here is an explanation of the customary colors of common packaging cartons.

① non-staple food cartons: bright and light colors are often used. For example, blue and white indicate cleanliness, hygiene and coolness; Red, orange and yellow are sweet, fragrant and fresh. The simple and solemn compound color indicates the mellow and long history of the wine. They are of great benefit to promoting appetite.

② Cosmetic cartons: soft middle colors are commonly used. For example, pink, pink and pale rose are used to express fragrance, softness and nobility; For some male cosmetics, black is sometimes used to express their solemnity.

③ Cartons for children's articles: bright and dazzling solid colors or contrasting colors are often used to express vividness and liveliness.

④ pharmaceutical cartons: simple cold and warm colors are commonly used. Such as using green and cold gray to show tranquility, anti-inflammation, pain relief, etc.; Warm colors such as red, orange and yellow indicate nourishing, nutrition and excitement. Black means toxic; Red and black blocks indicate high toxicity, etc. ⑤ Textile cartons: the hierarchical relationship of black, white and gray is commonly used, and contrast is sought in reconciliation; Women's textiles mostly use bright and elegant colors.

packaging color is based on people's association and habit of color, and it is highly exaggerated and changed in order to seek novelty. The psychological function of color is complex, and it is often different with different countries, regions, nationalities and religious beliefs.

second, the emotional expression of different colors

color is the result of the visual effect of light with different wavelengths, and there is no "emotion" in this case. However, the environment we live in is ubiquitous.