The Colour Wheel

To begin exploring Colour which is one of the formal elements in design. We must look at the very foundations of colour theory, which date back to as far as the 15th century.

                                                                   The Colour wheel

Here we can see that there is a logical formation or order of hues of colour. As your eyes follow the different colours, from any direction, it is noticeable that the next colour is relative to the previous one. What i mean by this is that every colour is derived from another by using different formulations of primary colours, being Yellow, Red & Blue.

Though these primary colours create other colours, they can not be created by any other colour.

From the primary colours we get the secondary - Green, Orange & Purple.

When primary and secondary colours are mixed then tertiary colours are created such as Red-Violet or Yellow-Orange.

The amount of colours are honestly endless as you can constantly change the hue of any colour in the tiniest and still the change will be recognizable to the human eye.