Color in design is very subjective, it can set the mood, it can enhance the function of a room, it can make the room larger or smaller, or can make the room warmer or cooler. Different light sources - natural light, florescent bulb and incandescent bulb will make the same color look different. Color from a ceiling light will look different from a table lamp. Surrounding colors can have an impact on the wall color. Natural light can be either sunlight - light coming directly from sun, or, skylight - the impact blue skylight has on the color, or, daylight - the combined light of sun and the sky.
Color wheel is a visual aid that is used to understand color and color relationships. A color wheel is actually made of 6 basic colors - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple and several in-between colors depending on how many hue wheels you want to have. A simple color wheel has 12 hue wheels is the most common one. Remember, the placement of colors in the wheel corresponds to the wavelengths of light which was originally developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. He discovered that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into 7 visible colors - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. When he passed these individual color rays thru the prism it came back as White color. He also found that each color is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further into other colors. Newton thus concluded that White light was made up of 7 different color rays.
Check this article for in-depth information on the color wheel: http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2008/05/08/history-of-the-color-wheel/
Check this article for in-depth information on the color wheel: http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2008/05/08/history-of-the-color-wheel/
Colors on the color wheel fall into various categories:
primary colors are red, blue and yellow a.k.a RBG - cannot be created by mixing other colors; these three colors are the base for every other color on the wheel; placed at equidistant on the wheel;
secondary colors are violet, green and orange - created by mixing two primaries;
tertiary colors red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet which are created by mixing a primary and a secondary color;
cool colors include shades of purple, green and blue; calming and soothing colors;
warm colors include shades of red, yellow and orange; vivid and energetic colors;
neutral colors include shades of ivory, white, taupe, gray, black and beige; take properties of surrounding colors;
primary colors are red, blue and yellow a.k.a RBG - cannot be created by mixing other colors; these three colors are the base for every other color on the wheel; placed at equidistant on the wheel;
secondary colors are violet, green and orange - created by mixing two primaries;
tertiary colors red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet which are created by mixing a primary and a secondary color;
cool colors include shades of purple, green and blue; calming and soothing colors;
warm colors include shades of red, yellow and orange; vivid and energetic colors;
neutral colors include shades of ivory, white, taupe, gray, black and beige; take properties of surrounding colors;
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| warm color |
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| cool colors |
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warm color source: http://socialcafemag.com/how-to-brighten-a-room-with-yellow/
cool color source: http://best-home-decor.com/living-room-paint/
neutral color source: http://interiorsidea.com/stylish-and-modern-interior-design-flat-white.html
Remember, colors have values - you can make them lighter or darker. If the color is made lighter by adding white to it, then the result is a tint. If black is added to a color to make it darker, then the result is a shade. The color is diluted in both techniques and it loses its saturation. Here's an example where the Red color in the middle is tinted by adding white until it turns white on the left and by adding black gradually red becomes black at the right side:
