Colour Terminology

as explained in a Personal Style workshop. Nb other colour models are used eg in printing, dyeing (subtractive) - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow. In lighting (additive) - Red, Green, Blue.

Primary: Red, Blue, Yellow

Secondary: (mix 2 primary colours) Purple, Green, Orange

Tertiary: (mix a primary & a secondary colour) peach, melon, lime, turquoise, periwinkle. magenta nb names vary

The following terms are often used in home decorating.

Achromatic: white, greys & black

Monochromatic: one colour, with variations of texture and value (light to dark)

Analogous: uses a primary colour and neighbouring tertiary colour eg yellow, yellow-green (lime) and yellow-orange (melon)

Complementary: uses colours which are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel eg red and green or purple and yellow. Complementary colours intensify each other so it’s best if one colour dominates and the other accessorises.

Split Complementary: uses a colour in combination with two colours directly opposite it on the colour wheel eg red with yellow-green (lime) and blue-green (turquoise)

Triadic: uses three colours that are equidistant on the colour wheel eg orange, green, purple. One colour tends to be used as the dominant colour and the other two as accents.