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Opposite colours intensify each other

Complementary colours sit opposite on a colour wheel; blue and orange are a pair on a traditional artists’ wheel.

The idea

Placed side by side, complementary colours create strong visual energy. With many paints, mixing complementary pigments produces muted browns or greys; the result depends on the pigments.

An example

A small orange light can appear warmer and brighter against a large blue evening sky than it would against beige.

Put it into practice

Look for colour relationships, not isolated colours: context changes what every colour seems to be.