Using Colors in Graphic Design: Understanding Color Basics
Color Wheel
The color wheel is a visual representation of colors arranged according to their chromatic relationship. Sometimes the terms color wheel and color circle are used interchangeably.
Hue
A hue is synonymous to what is actually meant when the word “color” is said. All of the primary and secondary colors are hues.
Shades/Tints
Shade refers to light and dark versions of the same hue. It is the color that you get when you add black to any given hue. A tint is the opposite of a shade; it occurs when you add white to a color.. Add both black and white to a color to saturate it or get tone
CMYK/RGB
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). It is the subtractive color model so called because you have to subtract colors to get to white. RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue, based on the additive color model of light waves meaning the more color you add, the closer you get toward white.
Denese is a lover of knowledge and puts her research skills and creative eye to good use with her infographics. When she’s not researching and designing visuals to present data, she spends time volunteering in her other passion–health education.