Harmony in color is important for two reasons 1.) it is pleasing to the eye and 2.) it conveys a sense of balance. Balance is necessary in harmony because you have hues that compliment, attract and give a sense of completeness. Let’s explore the basic definitions first.
First, remember the basic color wheel:
Complimentary colors are colors lying on opposite sides of the color wheel. For example, green is the complement of red. Purple is the complement of yellow and so on.
Analogous colors are colors adjacent on the color wheel. A great example is green, yellow and orange. These colors are not the same but produce a comparable sampling of hues.
A triadic is composed of three hues equally positioned on the color wheel. Orange, purple and green are examples of a triadic color scheme.
Split complementary colors are defined as one hue with two others equally spaced on the color wheel. In this example, teal, orange and red.
Monochromatic schemes are colors that are a shade or tint variations of the same hue. In this example, we see a blue monochromatic theme.
Why are we talking about color, you ask? Well, color is important for design because it will determine what your creations say about you and what message you want to convey. First, you will need to know a little more about color.
In the next article we will discuss tints, shades and tones and then we can get into the design process to help you understand how to use color combinations to create harmonizing effects in your new projects.
Citations:
Illustrations courtesy of http://www.worqx.com
