The secondary colors are formed by mixing the primary colors and the tertiary colors are formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color.Ĭolor harmony refers to conveying a visually pleasing arrangement, and engages the viewer by forming balance and an inner sense of order. All colors are derived from these three hues. The primary colors are thought of as traditional colors and cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. Color theory generates a logical structure for color, but can encompass a host of definitions, concepts and design applications.Īs mentioned above, the color wheel contains three primary colors, three secondary colors and six tertiary colors. There are three basic categories of color wheel – the color wheel, color harmony and context. Tertiary – red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, red-orange. Secondary – PURPLE, GREEN ( see shades of green), ORANGE. Primary – RED( see shades of red), BLUE ( see shades of blue), YELLOW. His color wheel was based on the primary colors and contains 12 colors. He took into consideration Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s hypothesis of the emotional value of colors, such as blue was associated with coolness and red was associated with warmth. This allowed him to show the natural sequence of color by joining the two ends and creating the color wheel.īy the mid 1900’s, a German theorist, Johannes Itten, developed the color wheel we know today. The prism produced red, blue, yellow, green and cyan. Newton’s first color circle was actually more of a pie chart, in which the bands of color he observed were dispersed in wedges, arranged around a circle. His focus on the nature of light and color, and experimentation slitting sunlight with a prism lead to his color circle. The original color wheel chart was created by Sir Isaac Newton, in 1666. Whether it is art, graphic design, photography, textile design or package design, the application of the color wheel poster will create an emotion that ties us to the image, art or design. The application of the color wheel encompasses a vast collection of areas, such as art, architecture, fashion, and interior design. The color wheel poster is a visual tool, used to help us comprehend and apply the principals of color theory.