Which color scheme uses one color with the two colors on either side of its complement?

Which color scheme uses one color with the two colors on either side of its complement?

• A. Analogous color scheme
• B. Split complementary color scheme
• C. Monochromatic
• D. Complementary

Answer: (B)

Color relationships on the color wheel guide how schemes create harmony and contrast. A split-complementary scheme uses one base color and the two colors that sit on either side of that base color’s complement. So, for blue, the complement is orange, and the colors adjacent to orange are red-orange and yellow-orange. Using blue with those two hues gives a trio of colors that has strong contrast like a direct complementary pairing, but with more balance and less tension. This differs from analogous schemes, which use colors next to each other on the wheel (blue, blue-green, green); from monochromatic schemes, which rely on variations of a single color; and from a direct complementary scheme, which pairs two colors exactly opposite each other (high contrast with no neighbors of the opposite color). The described setup—one color plus the two adjacent to its complement—fits split-complementary precisely.

Color relationships on the color wheel guide how schemes create harmony and contrast. A split-complementary scheme uses one base color and the two colors that sit on either side of that base color’s complement. So, for blue, the complement is orange, and the colors adjacent to orange are red-orange and yellow-orange. Using blue with those two hues gives a trio of colors that has strong contrast like a direct complementary pairing, but with more balance and less tension.

This differs from analogous schemes, which use colors next to each other on the wheel (blue, blue-green, green); from monochromatic schemes, which rely on variations of a single color; and from a direct complementary scheme, which pairs two colors exactly opposite each other (high contrast with no neighbors of the opposite color). The described setup—one color plus the two adjacent to its complement—fits split-complementary precisely.