BA0646OurColorWheel Todo

Before&After
BAmagazine.com i U X
Our color wheel

The color wheel is our tool for understanding
which colors go with what.
Continued
Continued Our color wheel 0646

Before&After
Our color wheel

Part science, part art, the color wheel is our tool for understanding
Visible light
Wherever there is light, there
Ultraviolet Infra-red
is color. While we think of
colors as independentthis The color wheel is the range of visible light made into a circle.
blue, that reda color is
never seen alone but always
in the context of other colors. Like a musical
note, no one color is good or bad. Rather,
its one part of a composition that as a whole
is pleasing or not. The color wheel is our tool
for understanding how colors relate to one
another. Heres how it works.
Infinity, simplified
White light contains all visible colors, which form an infinite
spectrum that always appears in the violet-to-red sequence
you see in a rainbow (right, top). To make it practical, the color wheel represents
this infinity with 12 basic hues pretty much like those in your first box of crayons.
2 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

Before&After Our color wheel 3 of 12 BAmagazine.com i U X
What are the colors?

The wheel has 12 basic hues. First are the three primary colors of blue, yellow and red.
Primary colors combine to make secondary colors, which combine to make tertiary colors.
Primary colors are the wheels parent Secondary colors are halfway Tertiary colors fill the remaining
olors; they are the only colors not made from
c between the primary colors. Each gaps. They are made from equal
other colors. The primary colors are positioned is made from equal amounts of amounts of the adjacent primary
around the wheel in thirds. the nearest primaries. and secondary colors.

Colors in common
As you can tell, every color is part of the color next to it, which is part of the next and the
next, all the way around the wheel. Colors in common are the basis of color relationships.
Blue is common to all seven colors, which get Yellow is common to all seven colors, which Red is common to all seven colors, which get
less blue as they fan out. Green and violet are get less yellow as they fan out. Green and less red as they fan out. Orange and violet are
the secondaries that contain blue. orange are the secondaries that contain yellow. the secondaries that contain red.

Color value
Color also has darkness and lightness, or value. To show value, the color wheel has
more rings; two big rings for the dark shades and two small rings for the light tints.
The color wheel has five

concentric rings from dark to light
shades are the big rings, tints are
the small, and hues are the middle.
Shade
Tints and shades
Shade (Left) A shade is the hue plus
black, and a tint is the hue plus
Hue white.
Infinite gradient
Tint Hue (Below) Five steps represent
what is actually a continuous
Tint gradient from white to black. A
tint or shade can fall anywhere
on the continuum.
Tints Shades
+
hue white hue + black

Before&After
Our color wheel 6 of 12 BAmagazine.com i U X
Color relationships
The following pages illustrate the six basic color relationships. Each can yield an
endless number of color palettes.
Monochromatic Analogous
First are the dark, medium and light values of a single Adjacent colors are called analogous. Analogous colors
color. This is a monochromatic palette. It has no color share strong undertones (here, yellow and red), which
depth, but it provides the contrast of dark, medium and create pleasing, low-contrast harmony. Analogous
light thats so important to good design. palettes are rich and always easy to work with.

Before&After
Any palette can include shades and tints along with the hue. The result can be
all dark, all light, or any combination.
Complement Split complement

Direct opposites on the color wheel are complementsin this One step either way are the complements own analogous
case, blue and orange. What the complement brings is contrast. colors. This palette is called a split complement. Its strength is
A color and its complement convey energy, vigor and excite- in the low-contrast beauty of analogous colors, plus the added
ment. Typically, the complement is used in a smaller amount punctuation of an opposite color. In this case the red, because
as an accent; a spot of orange on a blue field, for example. its most different, would likely be used as the accent.

Before&After
The amount of color matters. Palettes can be made warmer/cooler, darker/lighter,

stronger/quieter and so on by using more or less of some colors.
Primary Secondary
The primary colors are rarely seen as a trio except in childrens Secondary colors have a lot in commontwo share blue,
products. Red and yellow, however, are popular in American two share yellow, and two share redso harmonize easily.
culture for everything from fast food to gasoline. Red and blue As a trio they are soft, inviting and rich, and have pleasing
are common but attractive only if separated by open space. depth and dimension that are hard to get in other ways.
Rare Popular Clash Separated

Now for a quiz

Train your eye: Each cover uses one of the basic color relationships. Can you name them?
Hint: Look at the big colors, not the small ones; ignore black & white. Answers on page 11.
COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY

Comfort Comfort Comfort Comfort
Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens

Great Gourds Great Gourds Great Gourds Great Gourds
A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch
Simple Gifts Simple Gifts Simple Gifts Simple Scarves
Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover Plush Pullover Plush Pullover
And more! And more! And more! And more!
m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic

m Analogous m Analogous m Analogous m Analogous
m Complement m Complement m Complement m Complement
m Split complement m Split complement m Split complement m Split complement
m Primary m Primary m Primary m Primary
m Secondary m Secondary m Secondary m Secondary

Before&After
Download: Before & After color wheel
Before&After
Our color wheel | 748kb

www.bamagazine.com/ColorWheel/
This color wheel is exactly the one we use in

Before & After magazine. It is a reference tool, not
an interactive product. Its purpose is to help you
understand how colors are related. Its 12 hues
and 48 tints represent the full spectrum of color
but are only a tiny fraction of the infinity of colors
actually in nature.
The format is Adobe PDF. For everything you want

to know about working with PDF, please contact
Adobes Reader support Web site at
www.adobe.com/support/products/acrreader.html

Before&After
Article resources
Typefaces Colors
1
COUNTRY COUNTRY
2 Comfort Comfort 1 Giza Nine Three 9 C65 M35 Y75 K65
4a 4c 2 Sloop ScriptOne
10 C50 M0 Y76 K0
3 ITC Goudy Sans Bold Italic
9 11 C30 M0 Y64 K0
10 17 Images 12 C26 M0 Y47 K0

Garden Greens Garden Greens
11 Great Gourds Great Gourds 18 4 (ad) iStockphoto.com | a b c d
A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch 13 C60 M25 Y0 K0
12 Simple Gifts
Stovetop Treats
Simple Gifts
Stovetop Treats 16
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover 14 C50 M15 Y0 K0
3 And more! And more!
19 Quiz answers
5 6 15 C15 M5 Y0 K0
16 C0 M55 Y20 K0
COUNTRY COUNTRY
Comfort Comfort 5 Monochromatic
17 C30 M85 Y75 K55
4b 4d
18 C20 M80 Y35 K5
6 Complementary
19 C60 M28 Y90 K30
13 20 20 C0 M75 Y95 K0
14 Great Gourds Great Gourds 21 7 Primary
Simple Gifts Simple Gifts
15 Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats 22
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover
22 C0 M30 Y97 K0
16 And more! And more! 23
7 8 8 Analogous 23 C5 M48 Y96 K0

Before&After
Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
Subscribe to Before & After, and become a to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
more capable, confident designer for pennies has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
per article. To learn more, go to
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
E-mail this article Vincent Pascual Staff designer
To pass along a free copy of this article to Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
others, click here. Before & After magazine

323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Join our e-list
Fax 916-784-3995
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com
they become available, go to www http://www.bamagazine.com
http://www.bamagazine.com/email Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine

ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass along a free copy of this article to others
by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your
Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.
12 of 12|Printing formats Our color wheel 0646

Before&After

Before & After is made to fit your binder

Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.
For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,
suitable for one- or two-sided printing, is provided on the following pages.
For presentation format For paper-saver format

Print: (Specify pages 112) Print: (Specify pages 1419)
Print
Format: Landscape
Page Size: Fit to Page
Save
Presentation format or
Paper-saver format
Back|Paper-saver format

Our color wheel
The color wheel is our tool for understanding
Visible light
Wherever there is light, there
Ultraviolet Infra-red
is color. While we think of
colors as independentthis The color wheel is the range of visible light made into a circle.
blue, that reda color is
never seen alone but always
in the context of other colors. Like a musical
note, no one color is good or bad. Rather,
its one part of a composition that as a whole
is pleasing or not. The color wheel is our tool
for understanding how colors relate to one
another. Heres how it works.
Infinity, simplified
White light contains all visible colors, which form an infinite
spectrum that always appears in the violet-to-red sequence
you see in a rainbow (right, top). To make it practical, the color wheel represents
this infinity with 12 basic hues pretty much like those in your first box of crayons.
0646 Our color wheel Before&After | www.bamagazine.com Our color wheel 0646
1 of 6

What are the colors?

The wheel has 12 basic hues. First are the three primary colors of blue, yellow and red.
Primary colors combine to make secondary colors, which combine to make tertiary colors.
Primary colors are the wheels parent Secondary colors are halfway Tertiary colors fill the remaining
colors; they are the only colors not made from between the primary colors. Each gaps. They are made from equal
other colors. The primary colors are positioned is made from equal amounts of amounts of the adjacent primary
around the wheel in thirds. the nearest primaries. and secondary colors.
Colors in common
As you can tell, every color is part of the color next to it, which is part of the next and the
next, all the way around the wheel. Colors in common are the basis of color relationships.
Blue is common to all seven colors, which get Yellow is common to all seven colors, which Red is common to all seven colors, which get
less blue as they fan out. Green and violet are get less yellow as they fan out. Green and less red as they fan out. Orange and violet are
the secondaries that contain blue. orange are the secondaries that contain yellow. the secondaries that contain red.
2 of 6

Color value

Color also has darkness and lightness, or value. To show value, the color wheel has
more rings; two big rings for the dark shades and two small rings for the light tints.
The color wheel has five
concentric rings from dark to light
shades are the big rings, tints are
the small, and hues are the middle.
Shade
Tints and shades
Shade (Left) A shade is the hue plus
black, and a tint is the hue plus
Hue white.
Infinite gradient
Tint Hue (Below) Five steps represent
what is actually a continuous
Tint gradient from white to black. A
tint or shade can fall anywhere
on the continuum.
Tints Shades
hue + white hue + black
Color relationships
The following pages illustrate the six basic color relationships. Each can yield an
endless number of color palettes.
Monochromatic Analogous
First are the dark, medium and light values of a single Adjacent colors are called analogous. Analogous colors
color. This is a monochromatic palette. It has no color share strong undertones (here, yellow and red), which
depth, but it provides the contrast of dark, medium and create pleasing, low-contrast harmony. Analogous
light thats so important to good design. palettes are rich and always easy to work with.
3 of 6

Any palette can include shades and tints along with the hue. The result can be
all dark, all light, or any combination.
Complement Split complement
Direct opposites on the color wheel are complementsin this One step either way are the complements own analogous
case, blue and orange. What the complement brings is contrast. colors. This palette is called a split complement. Its strength is
A color and its complement convey energy, vigor and excite- in the low-contrast beauty of analogous colors, plus the added
ment. Typically, the complement is used in a smaller amount punctuation of an opposite color. In this case the red, because
as an accent; a spot of orange on a blue field, for example. its most different, would likely be used as the accent.
The amount of color matters. Palettes can be made warmer/cooler, darker/lighter,
stronger/quieter and so on by using more or less of some colors.
Primary Secondary
The primary colors are rarely seen as a trio except in childrens Secondary colors have a lot in commontwo share blue,
products. Red and yellow, however, are popular in American two share yellow, and two share redso harmonize easily.
culture for everything from fast food to gasoline. Red and blue As a trio they are soft, inviting and rich, and have pleasing
are common but attractive only if separated by open space. depth and dimension that are hard to get in other ways.
Rare Popular Clash Separated
4 of 6

Now for a quiz

Train your eye: Each cover uses one of the basic color relationships. Can you name them?
Hint: Look at the big colors, not the small ones; ignore black & white. Answers on page 6.
COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY
Comfort Comfort Comfort Comfort
Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens
Great Gourds Great Gourds Great Gourds Great Gourds
A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch A Perfect Porch
Simple Gifts Simple Gifts Simple Gifts Simple Scarves
Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover Plush Pullover Plush Pullover
And more! And more! And more! And more!
m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic
m Analogous m Analogous m Analogous m Analogous
m Complement m Complement m Complement m Complement
m Split complement m Split complement m Split complement m Split complement
m Primary m Primary m Primary m Primary
m Secondary m Secondary m Secondary m Secondary
Download: Before & After color wheel
Before&After
Our color wheel | 748kb
www.bamagazine.com/ColorWheel/
This color wheel is exactly the one we use in
Before & After magazine. It is a reference tool, not
an interactive product. Its purpose is to help you
understand how colors are related. Its 12 hues
and 48 tints represent the full spectrum of color
but are only a tiny fraction of the infinity of colors
actually in nature.
The format is Adobe PDF. For everything you want
to know about working with PDF, please contact
Adobes Reader support Web site at
www.adobe.com/support/products/acrreader.html
5 of 6
Article resources

Typefaces Colors
1
COUNTRY COUNTRY
2 Comfort Comfort 1 Giza Nine Three 9 C65 M35 Y75 K65
4a 4c 2 Sloop ScriptOne
10 C50 M0 Y76 K0
3 ITC Goudy Sans Bold Italic
9 11 C30 M0 Y64 K0
10 17 Images 12 C26 M0 Y47 K0
11 Great Gourds Great Gourds 18 4 (ad) iStockphoto.com | a b c d
12 Simple Gifts
Stovetop Treats
Simple Gifts
Stovetop Treats 16
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover 14 C50 M15 Y0 K0
3 And more! And more!
19 Quiz answers
5 6 15 C15 M5 Y0 K0
16 C0 M55 Y20 K0
COUNTRY COUNTRY
Comfort Comfort 5 Monochromatic
17 C30 M85 Y75 K55
4b 4d
18 C20 M80 Y35 K5
6 Complementary
19 C60 M28 Y90 K30
13 20 20 C0 M75 Y95 K0
14 Great Gourds Great Gourds 21 7 Primary
Simple Gifts Simple Gifts
15 Stovetop Treats Stovetop Treats 22
Plush Pullover Plush Pullover
22 C0 M30 Y97 K0
16 And more! And more! 23
7 8 8 Analogous 23 C5 M48 Y96 K0
Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine
Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
Subscribe to Before & After, and become a to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
more capable, confident designer for pennies has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
per article. To learn more, go to
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
E-mail this article Vincent Pascual Staff designer
To pass along a free copy of this article to Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
others, click here. Before & After magazine
323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Join our e-list
Fax 916-784-3995
To be notified by e-mail of new articles as E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com
they become available, go to www http://www.bamagazine.com
http://www.bamagazine.com/email Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine
ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass along a free copy of this article to others
by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your
Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.
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Before&After

Our color wheel

Continued Our color wheel 0646

Our color wheel

2 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

What are the colors?

3 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

4 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

The color wheel has five

5 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

6 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

Complement Split complement

7 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

The amount of color matters. Palettes can be made warmer/cooler, darker/lighter,

Rare Popular Clash Separated

8 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

Now for a quiz

COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY COUNTRY

Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens Garden Greens

m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic m Monochromatic

9 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

Download: Before & After color wheel

Our color wheel | 748kb

This color wheel is exactly the one we use in

The format is Adobe PDF. For everything you want

10 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

10 17 Images 12 C26 M0 Y47 K0

11 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

Subscribe to Before & After Before & After magazine

others, click here. Before & After magazine

http://www.bamagazine.com/email Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine

12 of 12|Printing formats Our color wheel 0646

Before & After is made to fit your binder

For presentation format For paper-saver format

What are the colors?

Now for a quiz

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