Primary colors: Primary colors - red , yellow and blue - may not be created by mixing other colors. On the contrary, they are mixed with one another to produce other colors. In printing and plastic arts, magenta (a pinkish red), yellow and cyan (a blue) are used as primary colors because they are better suited to mixing, and yield better balanced secondary colors. A mixture of the three primary colors produces black.

Secondary colors: They result from the mixing of two of the primary colors. Red (magenta) and yellow produce orange, yellow and blue (cyan) produce green while red and blue (cyan) produce violet.

Intermediate colors: Mixing a primary and a secondary color produces an intermediate color such as orange-yellow.

Complementary colors: Colors that are opposite one another in the chromatic circle are called complementary. For example, green (resulting from the mixing of the primary colors yellow and blue [cyan]) is complementary to red. Orange (a mixture of yellow and red [magenta]) is complementary to blue, while violet (a mixture of blue [cyan] and red [magenta] is complementary to yellow.

Warm colors: Colors ranging between yellow to red-violet on the circle i.e. yellow, orange-yellow, red and red-violet.

However, interaction between colors may cause a hue such as red-violet to appear warmer if it is placed next to a cold color, such as green, or colder if it is placed next to a warm color, such as orange.

Cold colors: Colors ranging between blue-violet and yellow-green on the chromatic circle i.e. blue-violet, blue, blue-green, green, yellow-green.

However, interaction between colors may cause a hue such as yellow-green to appear colder if it is placed next to a warm color, such as red, or warmer if it is placed next to a cold color, such as blue.

Pale or clear colors: Hues containing more or less white.

Dark colors: Hues containing more or less black.

Saturated or bright colors: Pure hues containing, theoretically, no white, black, gray or complementary colors. However, this definition can be stretched to extend the range of complementary colors. For example, the range of saturated blues is not limited to pure blues. Blues containing white or black may still be considered saturated. On the other hand, orange containing black, even in small quantities, is considered unsaturated because it becomes brownish.

Unsaturated or gray-tinted colors: Hues containing more or less gray, or of their complementary color. Theoreticians also use the expression "dull colors" to designate those colors. The expression does not carry a derogatory meaning.

Munsell Color Space (Courtesy of Munsell Color Services, A Division of GretagMacbeth)

Harmony: In decoration, harmony refers to a combination of colors that is pleasing to the eye.

The Voice of Color® has adopted definitions derived from the Munsell System of Color Notation. The Munsell System arranges colors in a three-dimensional space resembling a tree. The trunk (vertical axis) serves as a scale for neutral gray tones, black being at the bottom, white at the top. The horizontal axes, in variable lengths, represent a degree of saturation for each of the hues.

The world renowned Munsell System describes each color according to three attributes: hue, value and chroma (saturation), terms that allow all those interested in color to speak the same language.

Hue: It is the quality that distinguishes one color from another. It is, for example, what differentiates blue from yellow.

Chromatic Circle (Courtesy of Munsell Color Services, A Division of GretagMacbeth)

Value: It refers to the position of a hue relative to the vertical gray scale. Value allows to qualify hues as pale or dark, or light and dark.

Munsell Value
(Courtesy of Munsell Color Services,
A Division of GretagMacbeth)

Munsell Chroma (Courtesy of Munsell Color Services, A Division of GretagMacbeth)

Chroma (saturation): It describes the horizontal spread between a hue of the same scale value as neutral gray. Chroma allows us to describe a color as saturated or unsaturated, or as bright or gray-tinted. Adding gray makes the hue less saturated or more unsaturated. A hue can also be modified with the addition of some of its complementary color.

The seven color contrasts

The seven color contrasts, as described by Johannes Itten, painter and color theoretician in Kunst der farbe, studienausgabe (The Art of Color), form the basis of almost every color effect used in interior design. The Voice of Color® provides a brief explanation. To find out how to transpose those notions into decorating, visit the Playing with Space page of the About Color section.

Pure color contrasts
They result from the juxtaposition of saturated colors that are clearly different. These contrasts are peak when the three primary colors are juxtaposed to one another.

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Light-dark contrasts
They are produced by the juxtaposition of a pale and dark color or of a clear and dark color. In a monochromatic palette, the use of such contrasts adds depth to the entire palette. In a palette made up of different colors, however, the absence of such contrasts, or the use of hues of equivalent lightness, help to link the different colors.

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Warm-cold contrasts
They result from the juxtaposition of warm and cold colors, which makes warm hues appear warmer, and vice versa. This type of contrast, which helps balance color schemes, can be found in many of the Harmony Collection™ palettes.

Complementary contrasts
They refer to the juxtaposition of diametrically opposed colors on the chromatic circle. Such contrasts contribute to the fundamental and natural balance of chromatic composition.

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Simultaneous contrasts
They flow from the juxtaposition of two colors that are not exactly complementary. In such cases, colors seem to repel one another and vibrate as the eye tries to bring them closer to their precise complementary colors. The use of such contrasts makes chromatic compositions livelier and more interesting.

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Quality contrasts
They are the result of juxtaposing saturated and unsaturated colors, or bright and gray-tinted colors (to which gray or its complementary color was added). This contrast exists only if unsaturated colors are considerably dominant.

WB5	In this example, the red (232-7), relatively more luminous, contrasts with the other colors which are more attenuated.

Quantity contrasts
They are the result of the juxtaposition of little and much, small and large. The surface devoted to each color influences their impact on compositions. Creating balanced compositions calls for more than devoting equal space to each color. The brightness and saturation of each hue must also be taken into account. The lighter a hue, the greater its impact and the lower its need for space. The more saturated or bright the color is, the more powerful is its effect.

References: Itten, Johannes; Kunst der farbe, studienausgabe; Dessain & Tolra, Paris; 1973; 95 pages.