Color Wheel and Color Schemes By Olivia Ferrelli

Color Color is an element or property of light. Can help create different moods in the residential and non-residential setting. Every color can have a psychological effect on people and no one single color can satisfy every member of the family

Color Wheel Most commonly used tool to understand the basis of all color relationships. 3 concentric rings make up the color wheel: outer, middle, inner. The middle ring consists of the primary, secondary, and intermediate/tertiary colors.

Primary Colors Yellow, red, blue are the basic colors and cannot be created by mixing other colors.

Secondary colors Orange, green, violet. These are created by mixing equal amounts of two primary colors and are located on the color wheel halfway between the two primary colors used to make it.

Intermediate/Tertiary Colors Made from using equal amounts of a primary and secondary color. (Primary color is always named first) Yellow-green and Yellow-orange Red-violet and Red-orange Blue-green and Blue-violet

Tertiary (Intermediate) Colors

Color Terminology Hue – The name of a color Intensity- The brightness or dullness of a color Value- The lightness or darkness of a color ~ adding black to a color = shade ~ adding white to a color = tint

Color and emotion Warm colors: yellow, red, orange and all of the colors near them. These color are called “advancing” because they make appear closer. These colors attract your attention and make you feel happy, energetic, excited and perhaps, angry! Red actually stimulates the nervous system.

Cool Colors: blue, green, violet and all colors near them. Remind you of water, grass, and trees. Called “receding” colors because they make objects seem smaller and further away. Cool colors are quiet and restful. Used in hospitals and bedrooms.

Color Schemes or Harmonies Pleasing combinations of colors based on their respective positions on the color wheel. There are 6 basic color schemes/harmonies

Monochromatic Simplest color scheme. Uses a single hue and variation is created by changing the values and intensities

Analogous 3-5 color that are next to each other on the color wheel. Choose one color as the dominant and use smaller amounts of the others to add interest and variety                                                       

Complementary Two colors that are positioned across from each other across on color wheel. They make each other look brighter and more intense.                                                       

Split-Complementary One color is used with the two colors adjacent to it complement. One color should be dominant and the other two used to add variety and interest.                                                       

Triadic Uses three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel The primary and secondary colors form separate triadic schemes Change values and intensities to lessen the sharp contrasts.                                                       

Neutral Combinations of black, white, gray. Can also include brown, tan, beige, khaki Small amounts of color may be added for interest. This is called “accented” neutral

Resources Housing Decisions, pages 253-270 Housing and Interiors, pages 406-421 www.colormatters.com/colortheory www.color-wheel-pro.com Copyright ©2007, ABCD, All rights reserved