Colour wheel harmonies are consistent colour combinations formed on the basis of how colours are positioned within the color wheel. How harmonious a combination feels depends on how pronounced the contrast between the colours is.

Colour harmonies help you build balanced colour combinations in your clothing and put together a cohesive look. They are built around the dominant hue of your natural colouring and determine which colours will work together most seamlessly.

Colour wheel harmonies are expressed through colour schemes.

Colour schemes are stable relationships between colours within the color wheel that allow you to create harmonious colour combinations. 

Relationships within the color wheel are defined by six types of colour schemes:

▶ the primary colour zone;

▶ the adjacent colours zone;

▶ the contrasting colours zone;

▶ the high-contrast colours zone;

▶ the opposing colours zone;

▶ the diametrically opposite colours zone.

The primary colour zone produces the most harmonious combinations with the main colour. These pairings create a calm, soft visual impression.

Adjacent colours, sitting close to the primary colour on the wheel, form combinations that are more lively, yet still pleasingly harmonious.

The contrasting colours zone increases the expressiveness of combinations, resulting in a more vivid and dynamic visual effect.

The high-contrast colours zone sits close to the opposing colours and produces sharper combinations. These amplify visual contrast and give the overall colour composition a more energetic quality.

Opposing colours sit at a considerable distance from the primary hue and create very strong colour contrast. Combinations like these call for a careful hand, as they can produce a sense of visual tension.

The diametrically opposite colour, sitting at exactly 180°, is as far from the primary hue as it is possible to get. In their pure form, such combinations typically create the sharpest possible colour contrast and should be used with care.

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Color Wheel