8 min read
2026-02-01
The color wheel is a circular diagram showing the relationships between colors. It was developed by Isaac Newton in 1666 and remains a fundamental tool for designers.
Primary — red, yellow, blue (cannot be created by mixing)
Secondary — orange, green, violet (mixing two primaries)
Tertiary — yellow-orange, red-violet, etc. (mixing a primary and a secondary)
| Scheme | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | Opposite on the wheel | Blue + orange |
| Analogous | Adjacent colors | Blue + cyan + green |
| Triadic | 3 colors at 120° | Red + yellow + blue |
| Split-complementary | Color + two neighbors of complementary | Blue + yellow-orange + red-orange |
| Tetradic | 4 colors, two complementary pairs | Blue + orange + red + green |
The wheel is divided into a warm half (red, orange, yellow) and a cool half (blue, green, violet). Warm colors convey energy, cool colors convey calmness.
Use the Color Wheel to find harmonious combinations for UI design, logos, and marketing materials.
See also: Color Blender, Contrast Checker, Tailwind CSS Colors