Color Schemes

Complimentary Colors

To make colors appear more vibrant, you may want to choose complimentary colors. These colors appear across from each other on the color wheel. Examples of complimentary colors are violet & yellow, red & green, blue & orange, etc. Used together, these color pairs will contrast with each other and really stand out.

Split-compliments

Any color and the two colors next to its compliment on the color wheel. See the example to the right.

Triads

Triads such as violet, orange & green are a combination of three equally contrasting colors. They are equidistant from each other on the color wheel

Analogous

If you want some color change, but do not like the contrast of compliments and triads, you may wish to use an analogous color scheme. These colors are right next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors include combinations like violet, violet-red &/or violet-blue, oranges & yellows, blues & greens, etc. This is a more comfortable scheme which still offers hue variation.

Monochromatic

A monochromatic scheme is acheived by matching one color with tints and shades of itself. Monochromatic schemes look good with pure white or black for variation. Likewise, Neutral schemes (alterations of black, white, gray, brown or beige) look best when combined with one bright color.