COLOUR THEORY

COLOUR THEORY

The colour theory is a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the visual effects of specific colour combination. There are also definitions (or categories) of colours based on the colour wheel: primary colours, secondary colours and tertiary colours.

PRIMARY COLOURS

Any of a group of colours from which all other colours can be obtained by mixing. The three primary colours are red, blue and yellow

SECONDARY COLOURS

A colour produced by mixing two additive primary colours in equal proportions. The secondary colours are Violet, Orange and Green. 

TERTIARY COLOUR

A tertiary colour or quaternary colour (called intermediate colours) is a colour made my mixing either one primary colour with one secondary colour, or two secondary colours. 

ANALOGOUS COLOURS

Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side on a 12 part colour wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colours predominates

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS

Complementary colours are any two colours which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green, red-purple and yellow-green. Complementary colours are pairs of colours which, when combined, cancel each other out. This means that when combined, they produce a grey-scale colour like white or black, When placed next to each other they create the strongest contrast for those particular two colours.

ACHROMATIC COLOURS

Achromatic is used as a synonym for "black and white". A black and white print has shades of grey, but greyscale is also considered to be achromatic because it lacks hue, which means it cannot be classified as a subset of the colours red, green, blue or yellow.




CHROMATIC COLOURS

Blue and green are chromatic colours, while white, grey and black are achromatic, as they have no dominant hue (all wavelengths are present in equal amounts within those colours). White light is considered achromatic, as it possesses no dominant hue.




MONOCHROMATIC COLOURS

Monochromatic colours are all the colours (tints, tones and shades) of a single hue. Monochromatic colour schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints. Monochromatic colour schemes use variations in lightness and saturation of a single colour. This scheme looks clean and elegant. The colours go well together, producing a soothing effect. 

 COOL AND WARM COLOURS
Warm colours are made with orange, red, yellow and combinations of them all. As the name indicates, they tend to make you think of sunlight and heat. Warm colours look as though they come closer. Cool colours such as blue, green and light purple have the ability to calm and soothe. Where warm colours remind us of heat, cool colours remind us of water and the sky.



NEUTRAL COLOURS

Neutral colours include black, white, grey and sometimes brown and beige. Mainly colours associated with skin tones. They are sometimes called earth tones.