It’s safe to say that blue and red are the two most important colours in the spectrum. Along with yellow, they make up the primary colours, but yellow is so bright and cheery that it rarely gets to take center stage with its peers. Blue and red on the other hand, are both basic, standard, ever-present, but never disrespected for this ubiquity. They are both well liked, and well used, though are complete opposites. Blue is cold, red is hot. Blue is calm, red is passionate. Blue is soothing, red is seering. When used together they somehow evoke the cheeriness of yellow without its childishness. Blue’s coolness tempers red’s fiery nature, and red’s brightness elevates blue’s sedate nature. Elegant, respectful, bold, admirable – paired up, it’s safe to say, they are power personified.
Category: Style
Fashion, flair, fabulousness
Green and Blue are mostly the same
Blue is so calm and reassuring it can often be seen as a neutral. It is crisp and cool, no-nonsense, but also soothing and helpful. All of these terms could also apply to green, though it also carries an earthiness which makes it a tad warmer than blue. Green and blue can be tricky when paired since they are so close together on the spectrum. In fact, some languages don’t even differentiate between the two colours, and only have one term for both. Yet they are distinct, as green is a combination of blue and yellow and therefore contains yellow’s optimism and positivity, perfectly balanced with blue’s calm intelligence. A vibrant, emerald green will pair well with a baby blue, just as cobalt will work well with lime. Juxtaposed in this way, both blue and green are elevated, and become more bold than either would be on their own. Do not underestimate these cool tones, as their forces combined will heat up a room.
Purple and Green fight it out
Both purple and green are secondary colours, and often associated with villains in comic books. This villainy is natural for both when they are juxtaposed because while they are tonally similar, they are very much at odds. Both refuse to concede to the other, and both attempt to be dominant when juxtaposed. Both have a cool element, from their common blue, and both also have a certain warmth, which green gets from yellow and purple gets from red. Certainly, from this perspective, purple wins, since red will beat yellow in almost any battle, but somehow green puts up a hell of a fight when battling it out with purple.