Primary Colours

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Color Design Workbook

Home Page > Writing and Publishing > Book Cover Design

Lets start with the Basic Principles for using colour effectively. Good colour schemes are what separate a professional (outstanding) looking book cover from an ordinary one.

There are many colours in the world, but they are all variations of just 6 original colours - Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Green and Purple. Think of a rainbow to help you remember these six colours which are classified as being:

The three Primary Colour Hues 

The three primary colours are Red Yellow Blue. 

Each of these three colours must come from nature and are of primary importance. 

It is from these three colours that all the other colours are derived. Primary colours cannot be mixed by blending the other two colours together. 

Each of these three colours has an infinite number of variations or hues.

Red can be a crimson hue, vermilion, brick, rust, watermelon red, tomato red, baby pink, burgundy, maroon etc. These are all red, but each has unique qualities and a personality of its own.

The three Secondary Colours

Secondary colours are made by combining a primary colour with a neighbouring secondary colour on the Colour Wheel.

The three secondary colours are Orange Green Purple

Orange is made by mixing red and yellow. A variety of oranges can be made depending on how much red and yellow you choose to use.  

Green is made by  mixing blue and yellow. 

Violet is made by mixing of red and blue.

Within each these secondary colours infinite variations or hues are also possible as with the primary colours. 

Tertiary Colours

Tertiary colours are a mix of the secondary colours. The six tertiary colours are:

red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue green, yellow-green. 

For example: yellow-orange is made by mixing the primary  yellow with its neighbouring secondary colour orange.

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