Color Combinations and Proportions: Balancing Brand Colors

Get the Balance Right

It’s one thing to pick a set of great colors. It’s another to actually make them work together. Even the best palettes can fall flat if the proportions are off or the colors clash in the wrong context.

This guide walks through how to create balance, build contrast, and use color combinations with purpose—so your brand looks consistent, intentional, and easy to work with across every touchpoint.

Why Color Proportions Matter

Color isn’t just a design choice—it’s a system. Without some logic behind how your colors show up and in what ratio, things get messy fast. One page might feel too loud, another too flat. You lose rhythm, clarity, and that sense of cohesion that makes a brand feel established.

Proportions help shape experience. They give your visuals structure. Done well, they:

• Make layouts easier to read and navigate

• Reinforce hierarchy and call attention where it’s needed

• Maintain a sense of visual calm—even with bold palettes

• Make it easier for others to apply your brand consistently

The right balance lets your color palette breathe.

The Roles Colors Play in a Brand System

Not every color in your palette should compete for attention. That’s where defining roles comes in—it’s one of the simplest ways to create clarity.

Primary Colors

These carry your brand’s identity. They show up most often and usually sit at the core of your UI, logo, or headlines.

Secondary Colors

These add flexibility. Great for variety across channels—charts, background blocks, illustrations, etc.—without breaking your system.

Neutrals

They’re the quiet ones—backgrounds, type, spacing elements. They help create contrast and make your primaries pop.

Functional Colors

These are utility players: error states, warnings, success messages, active links, status badges. They should stand out—but always in a consistent way.

Define these roles in your brand documentation. When color use is left to guesswork, things break down fast.

How to Combine Colors That Actually Work

Here’s where most palettes go wrong: they look good on a slide deck, but fall apart in real use. The key isn’t just picking colors that look nice—it’s understanding why they work together.

Start with contrast and harmony.

Use tools like color wheels or generators to build your palette using tested combinations:

Analogous

Colors that sit next to each other (e.g., blue, teal, green) – soft and cohesive.

Complementary

Opposites on the wheel (e.g., orange and blue) – punchy and high contrast.

Split Complementary

One base color and two from the opposite side – a balanced, less aggressive contrast.

And always test for accessibility. A perfect combo means nothing if it’s hard to read. Use tools like WebAIM to check your contrast ratios for buttons, text, and links.

Optional visual: Palette swatches showing different combinations in context

The 60–30–10 Rule (And Why It Works)

One of the easiest frameworks to create color balance is the 60–30–10 rule. You’ll see it everywhere from interior design to branding, because it just works.

60% Dominant Color

This creates your backdrop and overall mood—think section backgrounds, surfaces, or whitespace.

30% Secondary Color

Used to add structure and visual interest—like headings, dividers, or image overlays.

10% Accent Color

This is your attention grabber—buttons, links, callouts. Use sparingly for impact.

Depending on your brand’s tone, you might adapt it to:

70–20–10 for minimal, airy systems

50–40–10 for more energetic, content-heavy layouts

The idea isn’t to be rigid. It’s to give every color a clear job—and the right amount of space to do it well.

How to Document Proportions in Your Guidelines

Defining proportions is just as important as choosing colors. Here’s how to make it clear for your team or collaborators:

• Show color use in actual layouts, not just swatches

• Include “do” and “don’t” examples (e.g., overuse of accent colors or grey-heavy interfaces)

• Break it down by format—UI, social, motion, print

• Document light and dark mode variations separately, if you support both

• Use before/after mockups to highlight proper balance

Optional visual: Side-by-side examples showing correct and incorrect application of brand colors

Tools to Help You Get It Right

Download:

• Color Ratio Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Try:

• WebAIM Contrast Checker – test for accessibility

• Adobe Color – explore combinations and harmonies

• Material Palette – useful for interface-first brands

Coming soon on Sameness

An interactive Color Proportion Visualizer (for creating and documenting ratios with ease)

Use Less, But Use It Well

You don’t need a dozen colors to build a strong brand—just a handful used with clarity and intention. A few defined roles, some real-world examples, and a bit of ratio planning go a long way.

And remember: proportion adds just as much meaning as the colors themselves. The same green can feel calming, urgent, or even overwhelming depending on how much you use it and where it appears.

The takeaway? Define your colors. Use them with purpose. Document them well. That’s how color becomes a reliable, scalable part of your brand—not just a visual decision.