Color Combinations - Guiding norms

Color Interactions

Two colors, side by side, interact with each other and change our perception accordingly. The effect is known as ″simultaneous contrast″. Since we rarely see colors in isolation, simultaneous contrast affects our sense of the color that we see. The real colors are not altered; only our perception of them changes.

Here is an example of how the same "grey" appears different on different background because of simultaneous contrast.

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• If you want a color to appear lighter, surround it with a darker shade & vice versa.
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• If you want a color to appear bright, surround it with a dull color & vice versa.
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