An Introduction to Color Theory: Color Basics & the Color Wheel

Colour theory provides the definitive color guide, so that those in the fabric, fashion and interior design industries can print their designs clearly.

To understand the processes of color matching for your fabric printing project, you must understand the basics of color theory. So let’s do this together…

What is Color Theory?

This introduction to color theory offers the guidelines you need, and outlines the points designers require to use color correctly in an image, pattern or design. Color theory comprises a collection of information about color: how people see color, the psychology of different color shades, how color differs according to various cultures, and much more.

Developed decades ago, color theory is a science and art unto itself; it gives us a perspective on color and provides a structure. Basically, you can consider color theory as a collection of rules and guidelines that designers use to communicate with their customers through the use of appealing colors in images or designs.

Color & the Colour Wheel

Research has shown the importance of color choices relating to marketing your brand. In fact, “People decide whether or not they like a product in 90 seconds or less, and 90% of that decision is based solely on color” according to online graphic design marketplace 99designs. 

That’s why you need to prioritise color in your small business! Having a background in the concept of color can help with your marketing; it can help build your brand and increase your popularity. All you need is the basic knowledge of colors, a color scheme and which color evokes specific feelings. 

To inspire you, we have compiled an informative blog that explains Color, Fabric and Emotions, and how you can use color and a color scheme to evoke different emotions in clothing and décor interiors.

Positive reactions based on the colour scheme image will make your brand stand out and help you sell your products. For instance, we associate the color yellow with happiness and blue with dependability (consider how many banks and insurance companies have blue logos!). That’s where this important color theory comes in…

Let us help you brand your company using color – read on and learn all about color theory.

What Exactly is Color?

We all perceive color in a specific way. Imagine you’re looking at a stretch of green grass. Your eyes send information to your brain telling you that the grass is the particular color green.

Color is how the light reflects the light waves. Every color has different combinations of light waves, and we translate those light waves into specific colors. 

Different colors are produced by mixing wavelengths or light waves of different intensities. For instance, when you combine the color red with yellow, it makes orange, blue and yellow create the color green, and so on. We also achieve bright colors by adding more light.

Now imagine you’re in a store looking for a tin of cold drink. How do your eyes land on the Coke tin? It’s because of its red color. Coke sells billions of cans with its iconic red and white brand colors. That’s red color and color theory at its best!

Color Basics  

Sir Isaac Newton developed a discipline about color in 1666. Since his first color philosophy, the color wheel has changed over time; more modern versions of the color wheel feature several variations.

The color theory behind the color wheel? It includes pure colors that build the basis of all colors. You can change each color on the color wheel by mixing it with white (which will make it lighter), black, or black and white (which will add a little more light).

It’s essential you understand exactly how the color wheel image works. And you need to know which colors harmonise together, and which colors don’t. Let’s take a look…

Interpreting the Color Wheel

The Theory of Hue, Tint, Shade & Tone

The four elements of hues, tones, tints and shades make up the four basic parameters for colors. By combining these four colors’ parameters we are able to create a limitless amount of colors. Check this out…

• Hue: It’s another word for ‘color’ and it explains the different colors that appear on the color wheel. 
• Tint: This is a color on the color wheel that has white added to it. For example, purple and white make lavender, and red and white make pink. You can also add more red to get a darker color.
• Shade: This is a hue where black has been added to a color on the color wheel. A shade is a dark version of an original color. So, a combination of black and the color blue will create navy blue. 
• Tone: This particular hue is a color on the color wheel that has had black and white added to it to (black and white make gray). Adding white and black results in a muted, less intense tone of the original color. In this example, if you blend the color red with grey, you will get a muted, dull red color.

A Color Scheme for Patterns & Designs

The color combinations you use to create a design or pattern will change the way your customers perceive your product or brand. Let’s take a look at the different color schemes and their image options, so that you can make color patterns that will be particularly appealing to your specific audience:

• Analogous colors: These colors sit next to each other on the color wheel, for example purple, blue and green or yellow, orange and red. This placing maximises the contrast between the colors.
• Complementary colors: These are contrasting, opposite colors on the color wheel – examples would be red and green or yellow and purple. We usually use two complementary colors from the color wheel at a time.
• Monochramatic colors: This is where you take one color, or hue, and make other shades, colors or tints from it. 
• Split complementary color scheme: These colors are created by adding colors from the two complementary colors you have chosen on either side on the color wheel. This will soften the contrast between those two complementary colors.
• Square colors: Similar to tetradic colors (see below), this color scheme involves four colors that are evenly set apart on the color wheel, approximately 90 degrees apart. This color mix works well when you use all four colors evenly.
• Tetradic colors: This color scheme involves four color ways – two sets of complementary colors, for example yellow, orange, blue and violet. Creations made from these colors will be rich and unique.
• Triadic colors: These three bold, dramatic colors are equidistant on the color wheel, ie about 120 degrees apart. When you use triadic colors together, they offer high color contrast and produce a harmonious accent. This color scheme image credit creates extremely appealing insights and design stories.
  

Combining Colors Together

It’s very important that you use color theories to get the right color content so that the color you choose for your patterns, logo etc are appealing to your target audience. 

1. When it comes to color, we do this through color contrast. If the contrast is correct, your audience will be attracted to your product. 
2. Vibrancy is very important when it comes to color. The color you choose needs to create a positive emotional response. The more vibrant the color, the more likely you are to achieve the response. Of course, you do need to know your target audience at the outset to get the right response to your choice of color and its vibrancy.
3. Take color blindedness into account. Many people are color blind and don’t see a red or green color the way they really are. 
4. Consider your audience’s culture. Ensure the color has positive associations for your particular audience, because color has very different meanings. It’s important to know about colors and color theory relative to how people consider color in Eastern and Western cultures. For instance, Chinese people consider the color red to mean good fortune, while Americans associate that color with danger. This is why color content can be so tricky!

Create Color Harmony in Your Design or Logo

Color theory teaches us the science of color. It also provides a background in the art of using color effectively. Here, we also explain how humans perceive color and how we can combine colors to create different effects.

However, it’s also essential you understand the effects different colors have on each other. Harmony involves blending warm and cool colors to reflect your message and depict your brand’s personality.

Designers often use the additive color models for visual patterns; this involves the three primary colors – red, blue and green. They use this particular color model to create unique insights in their design to appeal to a specific audience. They also do this so that they can use design with color extensively. 

Your end goal when it comes to color is to use color to reflect the personality of your brand and also to get a positive reaction from your target audience. 

The Primary Colors: Settings 

There are two basic primary color settings – RGB and CMYK. These color settings are used on various platforms, such as Adobe InDesign, Canva, etc. to create patterns that are then printed.

• RGB: Color is an essential part of human-computer interaction. We create RGB from three primary colors – blue, green and red, the colors we see on the screens of our computers, TVs and mobile phone screens. We also combine those RGB colors to create other colors that we see on our screens. Remember: we always use these RGB colors for screens.
• CMYK: We create these colors using a combination of four primary colors - cyan magenta yellow and black (key). Printers mostly use CMYK – they use this colour setting for signage, magazines, printing on fabrics, etc. The reason? You can make other color combinations on fabric using those four colors. CMYK printing is how colors and every color combination is able to print boldly, clearly and vibrantly.
  

Why Colors are Important for Fabric Printing

Color matters – and colour is everywhere! Our eyes can see billions of colors. Your screen can display millions of colors. The best fabric printer can make thousands of different colors.

So, when it comes to designing your fabrics for a specific project or company, choosing the correct color can make or break your color printing results. 

Setting up your design files and typography with the correct color settings will definitely affect the way the color will print. You can find out how to do the color settings correctly on our site when you upload a color file for printing.

The maake Color Atlas Offers the Best User Experience

We created our iconic color atlas using more than 2,400 colors and their color codes. We have designed this color atlas with all its content to fit on 1m of fabric, so you can view each particular color on it for printing on fabric. 

The color atlas offers designers the opportunity to select particular colors to use when printing patterns. It is essential for color matching and color selection. 

Once you have done your color matching and color selection, we recommend you give your customers a sample print from our color sample book. It features swatches of our 80 base fabrics that you can print on with us. Order a sample of your design to see exactly what the design and color choice will look like on your choice of fabric once our teams have printed it. The sample will give your customer an exact replica of the fabric and how it will look when you’ve printed on it for their project.

Colors Trending for 2026

In September 2025, Pantone®, long considered the global authority on color, released the Pantone® FashionColour Trend Report Spring/Summer 2026 edition for London Fashion Week. Created for the fashion industry by the Pantone Color Institute, it forecasts the top 10 standout olors, as well as the six new seasonless shades we can expect to see on the runways and in street style. Let’s take a look…

Describing these stunning colors as “a palette of color that elevates the everyday”, the 10 standouts included Burnished Lilac, Pale Banana, Tickled Pink, Mandarin Orange, Caramel and Shale Green. The others on the list were Teaberry, Amaranth, Amethyst Orchid and Dutch Canal, which is a glorious shade of blue.

The six seasonless shades, which Pantone describes as creating “a foundation to build upon”, include Angora, which is soft, fluffy and luxurious, White Onyx, a “light-transmitting off-white with a soft ethereal glow”,  a glorious Palm green, the deliciously rich Chocolate Truffle, Ether, an “ethereal blue-gray”, and a  stunning dark Evening Blue.

Pantone has long provided professional color standards for the fashion and design industries, and announces a Color the Year annually. Their Color of the Year for 2026 is Transformative Teal, Pinterest tells us. According to Pantone, designers and manufacturers should “use it to create a balanced, modern, and refreshing look that evokes clarity, creativity, and emotional depth”.

Pantone & AI – What’s Next in Color

Pantone recently teamed up with Microsoft to launch its “first AI-driven product experience”. Combining its six decades of color research with modern generative AI, it recently announced the Pantone Palette Generator, which will help businesses develop custom color palettes for their brands. The Generator will use a chat-based interface so that designers can personalise and streamline their color choices.

This innovative AI tool will help designers explore different color palettes, take trend forecasts into account and “generate design concepts”. Drawing from “thousands of colors from Pantone’s vast color library in seconds” they can create custom palettes in a matter of seconds.

Use Color Theory to Print on Fabric

Check our web site and find out how to use color to your best advantage!

Choose your base fabric

Create your own design

Want more inspiration? Read Our Colour Guide to Digital Colour Printing. We’ll show you how to make a digital color print!