In interior design. Itten's color wheel is used in interiors by many modern designers. With its help, basic colors are determined, attention is focused on certain things, shades are selected for decor.
In the fashion industry, fashion designers use Itten's color wheel to select colors and shades of fabrics for their collections.
In UX and web design, for creating a palette for internet resources or mobile applications, for finding the best combinations of tones when developing corporate brands, etc.
In marketing. Here, various tools are used that, with the help of color, solve a large number of problems related to the sale of goods or services.
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Basic Itten Color Wheel Schemes
The color wheel of Johannes Itten allows specialists of different fields to select the optimal combination of colors and shades. There are quite a few combinations, the most popular of which are listed below.
Complementary combination
In Itten's color wheel, complementary colors are obtained by combining opposite hues on the outer circle.
Where is this combination used? As a rule, it is used in cases where two main colors and clear accents are needed. One of the colors becomes the main background, and the second complements it.
Contrasting triad
This combination is formed by the colors located in the corners of the triangle. Unlike the previous version, in this combination, instead of one color on the opposite side, neighboring colors are chosen.
Contrasting triad
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How to use? This triad of Itten's color wheel is used when there is a need to tone down the contrasts created by complementary colors or to expand the palette. One color is chosen as the main one, and the other two, located on the opposite side of the circle, play the role of complementary.
Classical triad
This combination is obtained from the colors that are in the corners of an equilateral triangle. It is used in cases where a large number of shades are required for the main color palette.
Analog triad
An analogous triad on Itten's color wheel is obtained by using three colors that are located next to each other on the outer circle.
It is used when there is a need for a calm palette, which is not characterized by sharp transitions and bright accents. Design using analogous colors is considered restrained and laconic.
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Tetrad
A tetrad is made up of flowers located at the corners of a square at equal distances from each other.
It is used to design rich visuals in which four colors dominate.
Rectangular combination
This combination is obtained by combining colors from Itten's color wheel, which are located at the corners of the rectangle.
It is used in the same way as the previous option, for selecting multi-colored images, but taking into account slightly lower contrast and smooth transitions.
Letter X
It is obtained from the colors located at the corners of the letter "X": two adjacent colors on one side of the circle, and two adjacent ones on the opposite side.
Since there is a combination of similar shades here, compositions made according to this scheme will be restrained and discreet.
These schemes are more than enough to select colors using Itten's color wheel. But many designers note one problem, which is the absence of some shades in the wheel. For example, Barbie pink is missing. Therefore, users have to fantasize a little on the topic of where this color could be located and in what combinations to use it.
In order not to strain your brain, there is a special tool that takes into account such nuances. For example, in the graphic design service Canva there is Color Scheme. With its help, it is possible to manually search for the desired shade. Also, the color code can be found on the Internet on the What Color website.
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