Ba 0646 Our Color Wheel

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Our color wheel 0646

Our color wheelThe color wheel is our tool for understanding

which colors go with what.

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Our color wheelPart science, part art, the color wheel is our tool for understanding which colors go with what.

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.

Wherever there is light, there is color. While we think of colors as independentthis 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.

Visible light

Ultraviolet Infra-red

The color wheel is the range of visible light made into a circle.

Before&After Our color wheel 3 of 12 XiBAmagazine.com U

3 of 12 Our color wheel 0646

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 colors; they are the only colors not made from other colors. The primary colors are positioned around the wheel in thirds.

Secondary colors are halfway between the primary colors. Each is made from equal amounts of the nearest primaries.

Tertiary colors fill the remaining gaps. They are made from equal amounts of the adjacent primary and secondary colors.



Colors in commonAs 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 less blue as they fan out. Green and violet are the secondaries that contain blue.

Yellow is common to all seven colors, which get less yellow as they fan out. Green and orange are the secondaries that contain yellow.

Red is common to all seven colors, which get less red as they fan out. Orange and violet are the secondaries that contain red.



Shades hue+black

Color valueColor 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.

Tints hue+white

Hue

Shade

Hue

Tint

Tint

Shade

The color wheel has five concentric rings from dark to lightshades are the big rings, tints are the small, and hues are the middle.

Tints and shades (Left) A shade is the hue plus black, and a tint is the hue plus white.

Infinite gradient (Below) Five steps represent what is actually a continuous gradient from white to black. A tint or shade can fall anywhere on the continuum.



Color relationships The following pages illustrate the six basic color relationships. Each can yield an endless number of color palettes.

MonochromaticFirst are the dark, medium and light values of a single color. This is a monochromatic palette. It has no color depth, but it provides the contrast of dark, medium and light thats so important to good design.

AnalogousAdjacent colors are called analogous. Analogous colors share strong undertones (here, yellow and red), which create pleasing, low-contrast harmony. Analogous palettes are rich and always easy to work with.



Any palette can include shades and tints along with the hue. The result can be all dark, all light, or any combination.

ComplementDirect opposites on the color wheel are complementsin this case, blue and orange. What the complement brings is contrast. A color and its complement convey energy, vigor and excite-ment. Typically, the complement is used in a smaller amount as an accent; a spot of orange on a blue field, for example.

Split complementOne step either way are the complements own analogous colors. This palette is called a split complement. Its strength is in the low-contrast beauty of analogous colors, plus the added punctuation of an opposite color. In this case the red, because 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.

PrimaryThe primary colors are rarely seen as a trio except in childrens products. Red and yellow, however, are popular in American culture for everything from fast food to gasoline. Red and blue are common but attractive only if separated by open space.

SecondarySecondary colors have a lot in commontwo share blue, two share yellow, and two share redso harmonize easily. As a trio they are soft, inviting and rich, and have pleasing depth and dimension that are hard to get in other ways.

Rare Popular Clash Separated



Now for a quizTrain 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

Garden GreensGreat GourdsA Perfect PorchSimple GiftsStovetop TreatsPlush PulloverAnd more!

ComfortCOUNTRY

Comfort

Garden GreensGreat GourdsA Perfect PorchSimple ScarvesStovetop TreatsPlush PulloverAnd more!

mMonochromaticmAnalogousmComplementmSplit complementmPrimarymSecondary




COUNTRY


ComfortCOUNTRY

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Our color wheel 10 of 12

Download: Before & After color wheel

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

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Our color wheel 11 of 12

18

16

17

COUNTRYComfort


COUNTRYComfort


COUNTRY


ComfortCOUNTRY

Comfort


COUNTRYComfort


Typefaces

1 Giza Nine Three

2 Sloop ScriptOne

3 ITC Goudy Sans Bold Italic

Images

4 (ad) iStockphoto.com | a b c d

Quiz answers

Article resources

Colors

C65 M35 Y75 K65

C50 M0 Y76 K0

C30 M0 Y64 K0

C26 M0 Y47 K0

C60 M25 Y0 K0

C50 M15 Y0 K0

C15 M5 Y0 K0

C0 M55 Y20 K0

C30 M85 Y75 K55

C20 M80 Y35 K5

C60 M28 Y90 K30

C0 M75 Y95 K0

C25 M75 Y100 K20

C0 M30 Y97 K0

C5 M48 Y96 K0

9

10

1

4a

2

11

12

10

14

13

12

11

4d

4c

4b

3

15

16

14

22

23

21

5 6

7 8

9

20

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

5 Monochromatic

6 Complementary

7 Primary

8 Analogous

13

19

23

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Our color wheel 12 of 12Our color wheel 12 of 12

Before & After magazine Before & After has been sharing its practical approach to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before & After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-able, useful and even fun for everyone.

John McWade Publisher and creative directorGaye McWade Associate publisherVincent Pascual Staff designerDexter Mark Abellera Staff designer Before & After magazine323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678 Telephone 916-784-3880 Fax 916-784-3995E-mail [email protected] www http://www.bamagazine.com

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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Ou

r colo

r wh

ee

l 06460646

Ou

r colo

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ee

l

Infi

nity, sim

plifi

ed

W

hite 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 m

ake it practical, the color wheel represents

this infinity with 12 basic hues pretty m

uch like those in your first box of crayons.

Wh

erever there is ligh

t, there

is colo

r. Wh

ile we th

ink o

f co

lors as in

dep

end

ent

this

blu

e, that red

a co

lor is

never seen

alon

e bu

t always

in th

e con

text of o

ther co

lors. Like a m

usical

no

te, no

on

e colo

r is goo

d o

r bad

. Rath

er, its o

ne p

art of a co

mp

ositio

n th

at as a wh

ole is p

leasing o

r no

t. Th

e colo

r wh

eel is ou

r too

l fo

r un

derstan

din

g how

colo

rs relate to o

ne

ano

ther. H

eres how

it wo

rks.

Visib

le lig

ht

Ultraviolet

Infra-red

The color wheel is the range of visible light m

ade into a circle.

Our color w

heelT

he color w

heel is ou

r tool for un

derstan

din

g w

hich

colors go with

wh

at.

Be

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2 of 6

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Ou

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ee

l

Wh

at are th

e co

lors?

Th

e wh

eel has 12 b

asic hu

es. First are the th

ree prim

ary colo

rs of b

lue, yellow

and

red.

Prim

ary colo

rs com

bin

e to m

ake second

ary colo

rs, wh

ich co

mb

ine to

make tertiary co

lors.

Prim

ary co

lors are the w

heels parent colors; they are the only colors not m

ade from

other colors. The primary colors are positioned

around the wheel in thirds.

Se

con

da

ry colo

rs are halfway

between the prim

ary colors. Each is m

ade from equal am

ounts of the nearest prim

aries.

Tertia

ry colo

rs fill the remaining

gaps. They are made from

equal am

ounts of the adjacent primary

and secondary colors.

Co

lors in

com

mo

nA

s you

can tell, every co

lor is p

art of th

e colo

r next to

it, wh

ich is p

art of th

e next an

d th

e n

ext, all the w

ay arou

nd

the w

heel. C

olors in com

mon

are the b

asis of co

lor relatio

nsh

ips.

Blu

e is co

mm

on

to all seven colors, which get

less blue as they fan out. Green and violet are

the secondaries that contain blue.

Ye

llow

is com

mo

n to all seven colors, w

hich get less yellow

as they fan out. Green and

orange are the secondaries that contain yellow.

Re

d is co

mm

on

to all seven colors, which get

less red as they fan out. Orange and violet are

the secondaries that contain red.

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Sh

ad

es

hue+black

Co

lor valu

eC

olo

r also h

as darkn

ess and

lightn

ess, or valu

e. To sh

ow valu

e, the co

lor w

heel h

as m

ore rin

gs; two

big rin

gs for th

e dark sh

ades an

d tw

o sm

all rings fo

r the ligh

t tints.

Tints

hue+white

Hu

e

Sh

ad

e

Hu

e

Tint

Tint

Sh

ad

e

The

colo

r wh

ee

l has five concentric rings from

dark to lightshades are the big rings, tints are the sm

all, and hues are the middle.

Tints a

nd

sha

de

s (Left) A

shade is the hue plus black, and a tint is the hue plus w

hite.

Infi

nite

gra

die

nt

(Below

) Five steps represent w

hat is actually a continuous gradient from

white to black. A

tint or shade can fall anyw

here on the continuum

.

Co

lor re

lation

ship

s T

he fo

llowin

g pages illu

strate the six b

asic colo

r relation

ship

s. Each

can yield

an

end

less nu

mb

er of co

lor p

alettes.

Mo

no

chro

ma

ticFirst are the dark, m

edium and light values of a single

color. This is a monochrom

atic palette. It has no color depth, but it provides the contrast of dark, m

edium and

light thats so important to good design.

An

alo

go

us

Adjacent colors are called analogous. A

nalogous colors share strong undertones (here, yellow

and red), which

create pleasing, low-contrast harm

ony. Analogous

palettes are rich and always easy to w

ork with.

Be

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An

y palette can

inclu

de sh

ades an

d tin

ts alon

g with

the h

ue. T

he resu

lt can b

e all d

ark, all light, o

r any co

mb

inatio

n.

Co

mp

lem

en

tD

irect opposites on the color wheel are com

plements

in this case, blue and orange. W

hat the complem

ent brings is contrast. A

color and its complem

ent convey energy, vigor and excite-m

ent. Typically, the complem

ent is used in a smaller am

ount as an accent; a spot of orange on a blue field, for exam

ple.

Sp

lit com

ple

me

nt

One step either w

ay are the complem

ents own analogous

colors. This palette is called a split complem

ent. Its strength is in the low

-contrast beauty of analogous colors, plus the added punctuation of an opposite color. In this case the red, because its m

ost different, would likely be used as the accent.

The am

ou

nt o

f colo

r matters. Palettes can

be m

ade w

armer/co

oler, d

arker/lighter,

stron

ger/qu

ieter and

so o

n b

y usin

g mo

re or less o

f som

e colo

rs.

Prim

ary

The primary colors are rarely seen as a trio except in childrens

products. Red and yellow

, however, are popular in A

merican

culture for everything from fast food to gasoline. R

ed and blue are com

mon but attractive only if separated by open space.

Se

con

da

rySecondary colors have a lot in com

mon

two share blue,

two share yellow

, and two share red

so harmonize easily.

As a trio they are soft, inviting and rich, and have pleasing

depth and dimension that are hard to get in other w

ays.

R

are P

opular C

lash Separated

Be

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Ou

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ee

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No

w fo

r a qu

izTrain

you

r eye: Each

cover uses o

ne o

f the b

asic colo

r relation

ship

s. Can

you

nam

e them

? H

int: Lo

ok at th

e big co

lors, n

ot th

e small o

nes; ign

ore b

lack & w

hite. A

nsw

ers on

page 6.

COUNTRY

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G

iftsStovetop TreatsPlush PulloverA

nd more!

Com

fortCOUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple Scarves

Stovetop TreatsPlush PulloverA

nd more!

m M

onochromatic

m A

nalogousm

Com

plement

m Split com

plement

m P

rimary

m Secondary

m M

onochromatic

m A

nalogousm

Com

plement

m Split com

plement

m P

rimary

m Secondary

m M

onochromatic

m A

nalogousm

Com

plement

m Split com

plement

m P

rimary

m Secondary

m M

onochromatic

m A

nalogousm

Com

plement

m Split com

plement

m P

rimary

m Secondary

COUNTRY

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

Com

fortCOUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

Do

wn

load

: Be

fore

& A

fter co

lor w

he

el

Ou

r colo

r wh

ee

l | 748kb w

ww

.bamagazine.com

/ColorW

heel/

This color wheel is exactly the one w

e use in B

efore & A

fter 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 A

dobe PD

F. For everything you want

to know about w

orking with P

DF, please contact

Adobes R

eader support Web site at

ww

w.adobe.com

/support/products/acrreader.html

Befo

re&A

fter

Be

fore

&A

fter | w

ww

.bamagazine.com

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Ou

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1816 17

COUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

COUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

COUNTRY

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

Com

fortCOUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

COUNTRY

Com

fort

Garden G

reensG

reat Gourds

A Perfect Porch

Simple G


nd more!

Type

face

s

1 Giza N

ine Three

2 Sloop ScriptOne

3 ITC G

oudy Sans Bold Italic

Ima

ge

s

4 (ad

) iStockphoto.com |

a b c d

Qu

iz an

swe

rs

Article

reso

urce

s

Co

lors

C65 M

35 Y75 K65

C50 M

0 Y76 K0

C30 M

0 Y64 K0

C26 M

0 Y47 K0

C60 M

25 Y0 K0

C50 M

15 Y0 K0

C15 M

5 Y0 K0

C0 M

55 Y20 K0

C30 M

85 Y75 K55

C20 M

80 Y35 K5

C60 M

28 Y90 K30

C0 M

75 Y95 K0

C25 M

75 Y100 K20

C0 M

30 Y97 K0

C5 M

48 Y96 K0

910

1

4a 2

11

12 10

14 13 12 11

4d 4c

4b 3

1516 14

2223 21

56

78

9

20

151617

18192021

22

5 Monochrom

atic

6 Com

plementary

7 Prim

ary

8 Analogous

13

19

23

Be

fore

& A

fter m

ag

azin

e

Befo

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een sh

aring its p

ractical app

roach

to grap

hic d

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r mo

dern

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rld h

as mad

e design

ers of u

s all (ready o

r no

t), Befo

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After is d

edicated

to m

aking grap

hic d

esign u

nd

erstand

-ab

le, usefu

l and

even fu

n fo

r everyon

e.

Joh

n M

cWa

de

Pu

blish

er and

creative directo

rG

ay

e M

cWa

de

Asso

ciate pu

blish

erV

ince

nt P

ascu

al Staff d

esigner

De

xte

r Ma

rk A

be

llera

Staff design

er B

efo

re &

Afte

r ma

ga

zine

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ln Street, R

oseville, C

A 95678

Tele

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