In art as well as music, harmony comes from a
pleasing arrangement of the parts. The science of color harmony
traces its roots back to 1893 when Chevreul's "The Principles
of Harmony and Contrast of Colors," was published.
The science of color harmony categorizes colors
and determines harmonious groupings, such as complements, split
complements, triads and analogies. Where science becomes art is
in knowing how to use these colors, in what proportions and in
what order. In color and music, contrasts intensify each other.
Complementary colors bring out the attributes of each other. White
becomes brighter on a black background, blue enhances the warmth
of orange; opposite hues are especially attention-getting. This
hue contrast can cause tension in the image, if you are using fully
saturated colors. Complementary colors can be brought into harmony
by reducing the saturation or by mixing a little of each color
with the other. This tension is at its strongest when large areas
of complementary colors touch. Leonardo di Vinci was the first
to study this effect, known as simultaneous contrast. For the most
part, it's visually disturbing and should be avoided. Separating
large areas of complementary colors with a thin line of neutral
white, gray or black will diminish the effect.
Varying the saturation or brightness of a color
can cause light and dark contrasts. By simply working with complementary
and analogous colors, a harmonious color scheme can easily be created.
Pay attention to the saturation and brightness of the colors to
prevent unexpected contrasts or to create intentional ones. If
two colors are equal in saturation and proportions, the dominant
color will be the one whose brightness is furthest from the background's.
Similarly, if two colors have identical brightnesses, the dominant
color will be the one whose saturation deviates more from that
of the background.
Color Schemes >>>
Making Color Choices >>>
Corporate
Identity Design 
