Complementary colours
Two colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel — a classic high-contrast pairing.
Technical definition
Hues separated by 180° on the hue wheel.
Common confusion
Complementary pairings are high hue-contrast, not necessarily high lightness-contrast — the two colours can still be similar in lightness.
Example
Blue and orange, or red and green, are complementary pairs.
Why it matters
Complementary pairings are one of the calculated categories on every What Goes With This Colour? result.
Related terms
Sources
- Colourwise editorial synthesis — Colourwise