The first color wheel was presented by Sir Isaac Newton in the 17th century when he

first discovered the visible spectrum of light. Around this time, color was thought to be a
product of the mixing of light and dark, with red being the “most light”, and blue the
“most dark”.
Newton saw that this theory was flawed, and while in isolation as the bubonic plague
ravaged Europe, began testing the properties of white light and “to try therewith the
celebrated Phenomena of Colour”.
In his classic prism experiment, he noted that white light is composed of a variety of
colors. He then mapped these colors into an octave schema as the first color wheel and
the original ROY G BIV. His experimentations also led to the discovery that all
secondary colors can be made by mixing primary colors.
The mixtures of colors in varying ratios resulted in different “hues” of novel colors from
the classic ROY G BIV baseline, and resulted in the first hue wheel, which is likely the
color wheel we are most used to seeing.
-Intro to the psychology of color
If you walk into a room or open a webpage, your brain will process the colors before any
words or shapes. We are walking through a world of color, receiving a constant
subconscious stream of emotional signals and information. Each color can trigger a
range of emotional responses. But some common triggers for each color are blue and
stability, red and passion, yellow and optimism, green and healing, orange and energy,
purple and luxury, and pink and softness. Like colour terminology, colour harmony,
colour preferences, colour symbolism, and other psychological aspects of colour are all
big parts of colour psychology.
-color wheel
Colour wheel, a diagram used in the visual arts to represent the colours of the visible
spectrum and their relationships to one another. The colours are arranged
systematically into a circle, with each hue usually falling into one of three categories:
primary, secondary, or intermediate.
 In fields such as painting, fashion, film, and design, artists use the colour wheel to
assemble colour schemes and visualize how colours appear beside one another. There
are a number of colour wheels, each representing a different colour system. Colour
systems are based on three primary colours from which all other colours in the system
can be produced.
The set of colours produced from the primary colours is known as the colour gamut.
Although elementary-school students are typically taught that the primary colours are
red, yellow, and blue, there is in fact no set standard of primary colours; any three
colours can be assigned as primary colours to create a colour system.
However, there are sets of primary colours that are more effective—that is, produce a
more extensive colour gamut—than others. A couple of the best known are the
subtractive colour system and the additive colour system.
The traditional painters’ colour wheel is one example of the subtractive colour system.
Its primary colours are red, yellow, and blue (hence, it is also called the RYB colour
model, after the first letter of each primary colour). The colours are called primary
because they cannot be created by combining other hues.
Any two of the three primary colours can be mixed to produce the secondary colours:
green (made by combining yellow and blue), orange (yellow and red), and violet (blue
and red). Mixing a primary colour with an adjacent secondary colour creates an
intermediate colour.
In this model, the intermediate colours are vermilion (red-orange), amber (yellow-
orange), chartreuse (yellow-green), teal (blue-green), indigo (blue-violet), and magenta
(red-violet).
The Three Characteristics of Color
1. Value Value is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color. Every color has its own
inherent value.
2. Hue Hue is the name of any given color (i.e. cadmium orange, ultramarine blue,
etc.). I sometimes think of hue as the color family of a particular color.
3. Intensity Intensity is the purity or saturation of a color. Colors are at their maximum
intensity when squeezed out of the tube.
-color hue
Many people use terms like “hue” and “color” or “tint” and “shade” interchangeably, but
the terms have distinctly different meanings. Color is a very general term used to
describe every hue, tint, tone, or shade we can see. Hue refers to the dominant color
family. Hue refers to the origin of the colors we can see.
Primary and Secondary colors (Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Blue, and Green) are
considered hues; however, tertiary colors (mixed colors where neither color is dominant)
would also be considered hues. Tint refers to any hue or mixture of pure colors to which
white is added.
Pastel colors are generally tinted colors. Tinted color remains the same color, but it is
paler than the original. When mixing a tint, always begin with white paint and gradually
mix in small amounts of color until you’ve achieved the tint you want. Tone is a hue or
mixture of pure colors to which only pure gray is added (equal amounts of black and
white).
Adding gray to a color will make the intensity much duller. Beware of mixing too much
gray into a hue as it can become over-dulled and virtually impossible to restore the
brilliance. Shade is a hue or mixture of pure colors to which only black is added. It
contains no white or gray. Shade darkens the color, but the hue remains the same.
When mixing a shade, begin with the color itself then add black one drop at a time.
-color intensity
Color intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a color. The brighter a color is, the
more intense it’s said to be. Using our samples of yellow and gray, it’s easy to see that
the yellow is more intense than the gray. 100% intensity is a color—any color—without
any white or black mixed in.

The intensity of a color can also be affected by adding other colors to the original color.

If, for example, I put down a nice, even layer of yellow on a piece of white paper so that
no paper showed through, the yellow would be pure yellow. It would be the most intense
it’s capable of being.

If I then layered blue over the yellow, the yellow becomes duller—or less intense. Even
if the layer of blue was very thin and transparent, it tones down the intensity of the
yellow.

-color value

Value, in terms of art, is the darkness or lightness of a color. Value is one of the seven
elements of art and in many circles, it is considered to be the most important. Its
importance in creating the illusion of light, form, and texture in a drawing or painting
cannot be denied.

All values can be measured using a value scale, which theoretically has an infinite
number of values. Most value scales are sufficient enough when showing 7-9 values.
 Val
ue Scale with 8 Tones
All colors have an inherent value associated with them. For example, purely pigmented
yellows are generally lighter in value when compared to purely pigmented blues, which
are darker.

The pure color is generally referred to as “hue”. The value of a hue is adjusted by the
addition of either pure black or pure white. Value is the measurement of the amount of
black or white a pure hue has mixed.
By adding black to the color, the value is made darker, resulting in what is referred to as
a “shade”. When white is added to a color, the result is a lighter value. Lighter values
are referred to as “tints”.

An example can be seen with the color red. The hue is red. A tint of red is what is
commonly referred to as the color “pink” (red + white). A darker value, or shade of red,
may be a color that we commonly refer to as “Burgundy” (red + black).

Other colors can be added to a hue resulting in an adjustment of value. But because the
addition of these colors also changes the hue, white and black are commonly used as
the measurement. Since these colors are neutral colors, they only affect the value and
do not change the hue.

TYPES OF COLOR SCHEMES

1. Monochromatic

Monochromatic color schemes use a single color with varying shades and tints to
produce a consistent look and feel. Although it lacks color contrast, it often ends up
looking very clean and polished. It also allows you to easily change the darkness and
lightness of your colors.

Monochromatic color schemes are often used for charts and graphs when creating high
contrast isn't necessary.
2. Analogous

Analogous color schemes are formed by pairing one main color with the two colors
directly next to it on the color wheel. You can also add two additional colors (which are
found next to the two outside colors) if you want to use a five-color scheme instead of
just three colors.

Analogous structures do not create themes with high contrasting colors, so they're
typically used to create a softer, less contrasting design. For example, you could use an
analogous structure to create a color scheme with autumn or spring colors.

3. Complementary

The complementary color scheme provides the greatest amount of color contrast.
Because of this, you should be careful about how you use the complementary colors in
a scheme.

It's best to use one color predominantly and use the second color as accents in your
design. The complementary color scheme is also great for charts and graphs. High
contrast helps you highlight important points and takeaways.

5. Triadic

Triadic color schemes offer high contrasting color schemes while retaining the same
tone. Triadic color schemes are created by choosing three colors that are equally
placed in lines around the color wheel.

Triad color schemes are useful for creating high contrast between each color in a
design, but they can also seem overpowering if all of your colors are chosen on the
same point in a line around the color wheel.

To subdue some of your colors in a triadic scheme, you can choose one dominant color
and use the others sparingly, or simply subdue the other two colors by choosing a softer
tint.
The triadic color scheme looks great in graphics like bar or pie charts because it offers
the contrast you need to create comparisons.

6. Square

The square color scheme uses four colors equidistant from each other on the color
wheel to create a square or diamond shape. While this evenly-spaced color scheme
provides substantial contrast to your design, it’s a good idea to select one dominant
color rather than trying to balance all four.

Square color schemes are great for creating interest across your web designs. Not sure
where to start? Pick your favorite color and work from there to see if this scheme suits
your brand or website. It’s also a good idea to try square schemes against both black
and white backgrounds to find the best fit.

7. Rectangle

Also called the tetradic color scheme, the rectangle approach is similar to its square
counterpart but offers a more subtle approach to color selection.