14
Dec

Cool vs Warm Colors in designing

This is the basic, pretty self-explanatory division of colors on the color wheel. Warm colors are orange, red, yellow, cream, and beige; while blue, green, and gray are cool.
They are clearly opposing each other on the color wheel, which shows us at the same time the results we would obtain by mixing any of them together. Even green can be a hybrid, assuming you got it by combining blue and yellow.
The hybrid can be a warm or a cool one, depending on the dominating amount of warm/cool colors in the mix (lime green is significantly warmer than Kelly green, which has a serious dose of blue inside).
When decorating with warm and cool colors, you need to know that every hue varies depending on the black/white amount we’ve added to transform the shades and tints.
From this aspect, making a room lighter will usually make it cooler. The same way, a small dose of rich and dark tones will make it warmer.
As we said, red, yellow, and orange are the colors that qualify as warm, and they have an overall energizing effect on our mind and body (increasing adrenaline, increasing blood pressure, increasing breath rates and temperature, etc). The stronger they are, the stronger this effect will become.
It is believed that this is the driving reason behind famous brands and campaigns that mark incredible success in this consumer society, for instance Coca-Cola and Ferrari.
That’s why warm colors should be applied in social spaces, the rooms where you cook, receive guests, or where your children are playing and studying.
The strategy has been well adopted by famous bars and restaurants, which are successful due to the fact that they use colors to make people feel welcomed and comfortable.

Cool colors, for instance blue, have soothing and calming effects. While warmer shades remind of sun and heat, cool ones are best associated with waters and sky.
Obviously, we need such calm atmosphere in many rooms, in order to keep our thoughts organized, and our minds sharp.
This turns blue into the ultimate business choice, both for uniforms and interior (think about the police or the clerks in your local bank).
Blue and green are the usual colors inside important institutions, offices, or part of the logos of clubs and associations that want to appear organized and reliable.