They are the 'two-name' colors, such as red-purple, red-orange, yellow-green, etc. Tertiary colors take secondary colors one step further. If you look on the color wheel, you'll find the secondary colors in between two primary colors.

They are created using the primary colors.

Secondary colors are purple, green, and orange. However, there are exceptions in cases like light (where they’re cyan, magenta, and yellow), the print industry’s CMYK, and the RGB model used in screens and monitors. In most cases, they’re red, blue, and yellow. Primary colors are the core ingredients other colors are made from by mixing them together in different amounts. And, when mixing paint, it matters what particular pigment you're using to get that red in order to come up with the proper new color.īut let's keep primary colors simple and stick with red, blue, and yellow.Let's not forget CMYK for print and RGB for screens or monitors.If you're talking color theory in regards to light, your primary colors would be cyan, magenta, and yellow.These three colors can be used to create the next level of colors, called the secondary colors.Įxceptions, of course, abound when it comes to talking about primary colors. Primary Color Primary colors are the three colors that make all other colors. Anyone in marketing should understand the basics of color theory because no matter what, you are using color in your content. The less you know someone and the further it is from the center of the Relationship Target circle, the less intense the emotional expressions should be and the further it should be from the black center of the Emotion Color Wheel.Understanding how color works isn't just for artists dipping their hands into paint and pigments all day long. As an example, if you are upset by a grade you got on a paper, you might be ‘distraught’ when describing it to a friend, but when talking about it to a teacher it would be wiser to be ‘disappointed’. You should show less intense emotion to an authority figure than to family or close friends. With friends, who are closer to you and know you better, you can show more intense emotions.

Around a stranger, it is safer to keep all of your emotions in the outer levels of the Emotions Color Wheel. The type and intensity of emotion that is acceptable can depend on the relationship as well as the situation ( see Relationship Targets).

Emotions color wheel activity