Using the Adobe Color Wheel

Color Complement

Let us discuss how graphic designers decide color complement. There are several methods in which to choose a color complement or complementing colors for a design concept. One such method is to use a color wheel picker. While there are many color wheel pickers from which to select, this tutorial will focus upon the Adobe color wheel picker.

What is a Color Complement?

The answer to this question can go into a million different directions talking about pascal, color theory, additive and subtractive colors and several other subjects that are outside the intended scope of this tutorial, so while we know there are several more detailed answers, simply put, a color complement, otherwise known as complementing colors, are colors that work together and appeal to the human eye. These are colors that artists have been taught and known about for centuries and now the genius engineers, designers, marketers and programmers have worked together to convert this information to a digital media for beginners to learn about a color complement and use within their designs, resulting in the color wheel picker.

What is the Adobe Color Wheel?

Previously named Kuler, after its rebrand and new features the Adobe Color Wheel allows us to easily choose a color theme for our projects or designs. Learning to use the wheel is a must for serious photo editors or designers.

The Adobe Color Wheel is an online only free application provided by Adobe. Using the Adobe Color Wheel is not without learning as it is not self-explanatory. There are options from which to choose and that we will review in this tutorial to mak Color harmony is defined in color theory as aesthetically pleasing color combinations, otherwise known as a color complement. There are several different color harmony themes, also known as schemes, from which to learn and each has their own type color complement. We will discuss the 10 available options within e it easier to use.

Different Color Harmony Themes the Adobe Color Wheel. Our discussion is in alphabetical order which is different from how they are listed in the Adobe Color Wheel.

1. Analogous:
   The Adobe Color Wheel shows colors next to each other that appear to fade into one another as if in a rainbow. The colors that are next to another another are called analogous colors, pronounced ah•nal•o•gus. For example, green, green-blue, light blue and blue are analogous.
2. Complementary:
   These are the contrasting colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. This concept is not always accurate and should not be strictly adhered to when choosing colors from a color wheel picker. Some colors that are on the opposite side of one another in the color wheel picker are good combinations while others, not so much such as in the colors orange (#EB8115) and blue (#00799E). These colors may work well for a sunset or perhaps for clothes but for text and background options, this combination does not work well at all despite being part of the complementary colors on the color wheel. The takeaway here is that not all complementary colors work in every situation so be careful and test the colors being chosen for the desired situation prior to committing to those colors.
3. Compound:
   Compound colors contain variations of all three of the primary colors. Brown is an excellent example of a compound color.
4. Custom:
   For advanced users or just people that want to experiment and go outside the box, this option allows choosing colors on the Adobe Color Wheel without the color wheel affecting the other options.
5. Double Split Complementary:
   This is the same thing as the complementary color but there are two combinations complementing colors for which to choose and not just 1. This results in four different colors instead of 2.
6. Monochromatic:
   The word monochromatic is a fancy word for describing a variety of colors from the same hue. For example, light blue to dark blue. These colors are different but all start out with blue. We would add either gray or black to the blue to create a darker shade or white to make a lighter shade. Monochromatic is different shades of the same color.
7. Shades:
   We move around a single connector around the Adobe Color Wheel to receive 5 different colors at different brightness levels that use the same hue and saturation.
8. Split Complementary:
   This is a cross between complementary and double split complementary. We use a single point color as our base color and opposite colors for our highlights and accents forming an isosceles triangle if we were to draw a straight line between all points on the color wheel picker.
9. Square:
   The square harmony option uses for evenly distributed points around the adobe color wheel with a secondary base saturation color option. This harmony results in maximum color contrast.
10. Triad:
    The triad or triadic color harmony uses three equally spaced points on the adobe color wheel. This provides us with less contrast than the complementary colors because it uses two colors with the same hue but are set apart using different saturation points and brightness levels. The further or closer the first point is moved directly affects the direction of the other four points.

How do I use a Color Wheel?

Easily choose a color harmony using the options within the Adobe Color Wheel while adjusting the colors using up to 5 points within the color wheel picker. Move these points around until the best color complement or color theme is found for that project. The colors are shown at the bottom of the website.

Benefits of using a Color Wheel?

The Adobe Color Wheel takes the guesswork out of color design and makes it so we do not need to fully understand color theory in order to choose the correct contrasting or color complement. The color wheel picture Adobe provides makes it easier to decide upon the colors to use within our project.

Other Color Tools

The Adobe Color Wheel is not the first nor the only color wheel picker or color tool on the Internet. There are several other options and tools for us to use. Most of these options are more advanced than the Adobe Color Wheel and not quite as user-friendly.

1. I Want Hue:
   We can make color palettes from this website by adjusting the colors desired by adjusting the HCL or Hue, Chroma and Luminance. We can choose from presets or custom adjust to our liking. Once we adjust, we have the option to make the colors better for the color blind, create a palette and even choose a dark background so we can see what those colors will look like with a light and dark background.
2. Color Matcher:
   Design.ai is probably the closest thing to the Adobe Color Wheel. They provide hundreds of presets of colors. When we click on one, we can use the tools provided to get to the color wheel that looks and works very similar to the Adobe Color Wheel.
3. Happy Hues:
   Happy Hues is wonderful for website design. Clicking on any of the 17 preset palettes will change the entire web page in real time to show how the colors will be shown to our viewers. This is not typically for photo editing but it can be used for it to see how the colors will be shown together.
4. Color Explorer:
   A website written in ASP.NET, this website allows us to use a slider to create our own color palettes and it lets us know which colors work together well. This would be suggested for more of an advanced user than a beginner.
5. Color Extraction:
   Want to know what the color palette is within an already created image? That is what the color extractor from tineye will do for us. This tool analyzes the uploaded image or an image from a specific website address (URL) and extracts the color palette utilized to create that image.
6. Color Hexa:
   The advanced tool is wonderful for telling us what colors go well with the color we enter and if those colors are color blind friendly. We must know the hexadecimal code for the color prior to utilizing this website.
7. Color Hunt:
   Color Hunt is true to its name. There is what appears to be an endless amount of color palettes on this website. We will definitely hunt for the color which we want but it is a great tool to provide an opportunity to see which colors work together for any projects we are considering.