Colour

Explanation

A colour scheme may be called triadic if it’s based on three hues that form an isosceles triangle on the colour wheel. There are many variations on this theme.

A scheme is strictly triadic if its three hues are evenly spaced around the colour wheel, forming an equilateral triangle. This still allows for considerable variation. The first illustration demonstrates some simple examples. The circle is filled with strictly triadic combinations of hues using a saturation and luminance gradient (both the saturation and the luminance decrease steadily from the centre to the circumference of the circle). The circle rotates as the hues change so the centre of each arc is aligned with the corresponding position on the colour wheel.

A strictly triadic scheme may use a selection of tints, tones and shades of the three hues or it may use the hues in unequal quantities.

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Technical notes

• Triadic colour schemes and harmonious triads are based on overlapping concepts, but they’re not quite the same thing. There may be a colour bias in a triadic scheme—its average colour may not be grey.  Alternatively, a triadic scheme can maintain a formal balance by using the colours in unequal quantities. 
• If two of the three hues are close together on the colour wheel, the scheme is no longer called triadic—it’s more likely to be called a split complementary scheme. 
• If all three hues are close together on the colour wheel, the scheme is no longer called triadic. Instead, it would be said to use analogous hues.