Secondary colors
Colors made by mixing two primaries, like orange, green and purple on the painter's wheel.
Also called secondary color
Secondary colors are mixes of two primaries. On the painter’s wheel: red + yellow = orange, yellow + blue = green, blue + red = purple.
With light, the secondaries are cyan, magenta and yellow, which are exactly the print primaries.
Guides that cover Secondary colors
- Harmony What Is Color Harmony? Color harmony explained: complementary, analogous, triadic and other harmonies, and how balanced color relationships make a design feel right. Read on.
- Mixing Additive vs Subtractive Color Additive vs subtractive color explained: how RGB light adds up to white, how CMYK ink subtracts toward black, and why screens and print differ. Read on.
- Palettes What Is a Color Palette? What is a color palette? Learn the main palette types, how many colors to use and how to build one for your brand or website. Then try our palette tools.
- Color Wheel Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors Explained Primary, secondary and tertiary colors explained across RYB, RGB and CMYK, with how each one is mixed on the color wheel. Learn the basics in 5 minutes.
- Tints & Shades Tints, Shades, and Tones Tint, shade and tone explained: see how adding white, black or gray changes a base color, and how to use each to build richer palettes. Read the quick guide.