Color Theory

Color theory is the relationships that colors have with each other.

Primary Colors:

Blue Yellow Red

These colors are the base of all color. You cannot create them by mixing colors together.

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Secondary Colors:

Green Purple Orange

These colors are all made by mixing other colors together! Can you guess which two primary colors make each of these colors? Red + Blue = Purple

Red + Yellow = Orange

Yellow + Blue = Green

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Tertiary Colors

A tertiary color is a color in between two colors.

Red-Orange Yellow-Orange Yellow-Green Blue-Green Blue-Purple Red-Purple

But these colors are kind of confusing, right? Here are the official names for these in between colors.

Vermillion Amber Chartreuse Teal Violet Magenta

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Don't worry, you do not have to memorize these! Just wanted to tell you what they were.

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Cool Colors:

Green Blue Purple

Warm Colors:

Red Orange Yellow

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Complementary Colors:

This means two colors that complement each other.

You can find these colors by looking what color is across from another on a color wheel.

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Complementary Colors:

These colors have been used together for centuries, because our brain tells us these look good together.

Blue - Orange

Red - Green

Purple - Yellow

Look at this picture for 30 seconds!

Primary Colors

Secondary Colors

Tertiary Colors

Color Combinations

Complementary Colors

Two colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. This combination provides a high contrast and high impact color combination – together, these colors will appear brighter and more prominent.

Monochromatic Colors

Shades, tones and tints of one base color. Provides a subtle and conservative color combination. This is a versatile color combination that is easy to apply to design projects for a harmonious look.

Warm Colors

Warm colors are the colors from red through to yellow. These colors are said to bring to mind warmth, like the sun.

Cool Colors

Cool colors are the colors from blue to green and purple. These colors are said to bring to mind coolness, like water.

Try to guess the color scheme!

So why did this work?