Minolta PAGEPRO EX, Manual

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Using color effectively
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Color wheel
A color wheel is a helpful tool for understanding the interrelation of
colors. The colors on one side of the color wheel, from magenta to
yellow, appear to most people to be warm colors, while those on the
other side, from green to blue, appear to be cool. The distance
between two colors on the color wheel can help predict how they will
appear when seen side by side. Colors opposite one another on the
wheel are called complements, and create a striking contrast side by
side. This can be the basis for a bold graphical design, but it is an
effect you should use with discretion since it can be visually
fatiguing. Other bold combinations to consider are split complements
(a color and the two colors adjacent to its complement) and triads
(three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel). Colors adjacent to
one another on the color wheel result in subtle harmonies.
The color wheel simplifies color relationships for the purpose of
clarity, showing only saturated or pure colors. Adding the myriad
variations of each hue to the palette (more or less saturated, darker or
lighter) creates a wealth of possibilities. Taking a pair of complements
from the color wheel and varying the saturation and brightness of one
or both colors produces a very different result from the pure
complements. Combining a light tint of a warm color with a darker
shade of its cooler complement often gives pleasing results.
Combining a darker shade of a warm color with a light tint of its
cooler complement produces an unusual effect you may like.
Once you have mastered the concept of the color wheel, you have a
good framework for experimenting with color combinations. Many
books targeted at graphic designers show groups of preselected color
combinations. Some are organized by themes or moods, and some are
based on a custom color system such as PANTONE. The more you
develop a critical facility for judging color combinations, the more
you will be able to trust your own eye for color.