Introduction to Color Wheel

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Introduction to Color
Color Theory Basics - The Color Wheel - Why Color is Important!

It would be impossible to compress all there is about color into one article, but we can go over the basics that every designer and do-it-yourself person needs to know to create professional and succesful projects using color.

Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design applications, so as an introduction, let's break everything down into a few basic concepts starting with:

The Color Wheel

There are many different kinds of color wheels you might see. Shown to the right is a "traditional" version of a color wheel with tints, tones and shades, while the color wheel shown below goes from light to dark hues.

PRIMARY COLORS
Red, Yellow and Blue

A color circle is based on the primary colors of red, yellow and blue, and in traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

SECONDARY COLORS
Green, Orange and Violet (Purple)

Green, orange and violet (purple) are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

TERTIARY COLORS
Red-orange, Yellow-orange, Yellow-green, Blue-green, Blue-violet, and Red-violet

These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two-word name, such as blue-violet, red-orange, and yellow-orange.

AGGRESSIVE (Warm) COLORS
Reds, Oranges, and Yellows

are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space.

RECEDING (Cool) COLORS
Greens, Blues, and Violets

give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.

Hilary Rinaldi is a nationally published writer, an award winning illustrator and graphic designer, and a Certified Search Engine Optimizer. She has developed and overseen national and international marketing campaigns and she regularly writes about Target Marketing, and Graphic Design Training, and strives to give the best Target Marketing Advice she can while making it an enjoyable process for anyone who wants to learn.