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Red symbolizes love and passion. Yellow stirs up happy and bubbly vibes. White and blue elicits feelings of calm and serenity. In most visual art forms, the proper use of colors is essential in creating pieces. Floral design is no exception! Using color theory is the first step in designing stunning floral arrangements.
Before this, we explored the origins and styles of different flower arrangements. Now, we'll tackle the basics of color and design in the art of floristry. We'll go much deeper into simple concepts like ROYGBIV. From there, we'll cover more complex principles of color combination. Here's the quick rundown of the color theory that every florist in the industry needs!
Depending on how you want to use them, colors can be soft and gentle, bright and radiant, or quiet and somber. But whichever combination you use, it's useful to refer to the color wheel! This will help your floral pieces look more pleasing and gorgeous. There are three basic terms in color theory: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary colors are the three major parts of the color wheel - red, yellow, and blue. These are the only colors that aren't made from the mix of other colors. Secondary colors are blends of any two primary colors. Orange is the mix of red and yellow. Green is the mix of yellow and blue. Purple is the mix of blue and red. Tertiary colors are blends of any primary color with any secondary color. Red orange, yellow orange, red violet, blue violet (indigo), and blue green (teal), are good examples of this.
It's essential to use the color wheel in proper and artistic ways. It can help speed up the process of selecting flowers, foliage and accessories. With this, you can create beautiful, harmonious arrangements and decor with ease. There are a million and one ways to mix your colors and styles to go with the theme and occasion! To kick off your creative flow of ideas, you can follow these four basic color harmonies. (Tip: Keep that color wheel in view for an easy focus point with these combinations.).
These are pairs of colors right across from each other on the color wheel. Examples include red and green, yellow and violet, and blue and orange. They create an interesting palette thanks to their clear contrast to each other. This is excellent for designing intense or lively floral arrangements!
These schemes consist of three colors beside one another on the wheel. It the two most popular divisions of colors: warm (red, orange, and yellow) and cool (blue, green, purple). Florists match these color harmonies to multiple themes! Whether for solemn moods or delightful motifs, they mix well to develop a flowing look.
On a strict budget? These arrangements are light on the pocket but charming to the eye! Simple yet refined, they suit any theme or celebration with ease. Known as "greenery", they add the charm of nature's touch to any arrangement.
This scheme uses three colors in equal distance from each other on the color wheel. In floral arrangements, this appears in bundles of the primaries and secondaries. Florists often select subtler or lighter shades of the triad. They also go with a mix of rich and soft shades for a pleasing, balanced aesthetic. Want a more thorough guide on making floral designs for specific containers or events? Check out our two-part series on how to create floral arrangements!
Read all about Flower Ornaments For Any Occasion in our next article.