Color Theory

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) explained that color orginates in light. After much experimentation he worked out that light is made up of several different colors, and when he refracted light through a prism he was presented with the seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan (light blue), indigo (dark blue) and violet. Newtonian principles are still used today.
Thomas Young (1773-1829) took Newton’s studies one step further when he realized that just three of the colors in the rainbow make up white light: red, green and blue. These three colors are the original primary colors. In 1859 the German physiologist Herman Von Helmholtz (1821-1894) built on Young’s work and developed the theory that our eyes read color in terms of light, in red, green and blue. This theory was widely accepted and showed that every object is “coded” or broken down by the brain into various percentages of red, green and blue, which is how we see color.

Hering’s Color Wheel

On this wheel, yellow is the fourth “primary” color. Ewald Hering (1834-1918) opposed the teachings of Helmholtz, believing that his chart gave a truer indication of the human experience of color. He argued that yellow ought to be a primary color because it is seen by the eye as an independent color, along with red, green and blue. He also included black and white as basic visual primary colors. Hering described his order of colors as “the natural system of color sensations.” Today his system forms the basis of the N.C.S., the Natural Color System, which is used all over the world as a color-matching tool.

Harmonious Colors

The four “primary” colors are red, blue, green and yellow. When these pure  colors are mixed, the secondary colors of purple, turquoise, orange and lime are produced. As you move around the wheel you can immediately see the harmonies between the colors that are adjacent to each other. For instance, a palette made up of tones of yellow, lemon, marigold and terra-cotta will always be successful. These colors all originate from between yellow and orange on the color wheel and they have an intrinsic harmony with each other.

Complementary Colors

Colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel are called “complementary”. These are opposing colors that vibrate against each other, or clash. Often you will not see complementary colors together in a scheme, but sometimes the clever use of a complementary color in a room can have a striking effect. For instance, a bright turquoise chair against a soft orange-peach wall would look wonderful.