Color basics
Orange
A warm color between red and yellow, associated with fire, fruit, energy, and earth.
Ancient onward Fire, fruit, earth pigments, minerals, synthetic pigments seed
What it is
Orange sits between red and yellow. It can be vivid and modern, but it also connects to ancient earth colors, flame, ceramics, autumn, and warning systems.
Basics
- Orange is usually understood as a secondary color between red and yellow.
- It can read as warm, energetic, friendly, earthy, autumnal, or cautionary.
- Many browns are dark or muted oranges, making orange important for understanding earth tones.
Notes for later expansion
- Later expansion should connect orange to ochre, realgar, chrome orange, cadmium orange, and safety orange.
- Orange is important in the RYB wheel because the yellow-to-red band is stretched.