Let’s be friends of color wheel

Having the knowledge in the concept of the color wheel can introduce more interesting combinations and harmony on your ribbon bows.

Hues on color wheel are made up by three color groups.

Red, Yellow and Blue are the PRIMARY COLORS. These are the three pigment colors that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from mixing these three hues.

SECONDARY COLORS are Purple, Green, and Orange; they are achieved by mixing two primary colors together.

TERTIARY COLORS are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why these hues are two-word names, purple-red, blue-purple, blue-green, yellow-green, orange-yellow and red-orange.

A tint describes a color that is mixed with white.

Dull colors involve hues with gray.

A shade describes a color that is mixed with black.

Achromatic colors are shades of blacks and grays

Transparent colors are colors that you can see through. When you overlay two transparent colors they will mix to create a third.

When we mix and match ribbons, it is important to ensure that ribbons we pick are looking good. And we can achieve that by ensuring that they are in harmony colors.

The Harmonic Recipes

When something is so bland… Our brain simply rejects this under-stimulating information. At the other extreme, our brain also rejects what it cannot organize nor understand when interpreting something that’s so overdone or chaotic.

So we need an equilibrium look that able to create an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order.

There are many recipes for harmony and you may begin with these basic formulas:

• Ribbon color coordination based on shade and tints of the same hue;
• The analogous colors of color wheels;
• The complementary colors;
• Color coordination based on nature contrasting colors;
• The achromatic hues.