Design and Color: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Color (or colour in British spelling) are everywhere. The science of color is called Chromatic while the study of color in the context of art and design is called Color Theory. In part one of this mini-series of color usage in design, we will talk about the primary, secondary and tertiary color.

Image credit: NYP Dip. VFX lecture notes

The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. The elementary nature of these colors enables them to be used for many children related products. One famous artist known for the use of primary color is Piet Mondrian.

Secondary colors is made by adding two different primary color together. The result is orange, green and violet (or purple). Orange is combined from yellow and red; Green is combined from blue and yellow; Violet is combined from blue and red.

Tertiary colors are made by combining a primary and a secondary color that is located next to each other on the color wheel. The six tertiary colors are blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange, and yellow-green.

In a way, blue is common to green and violet; Red is common to violet and orange; Yellow is common to green and orange.