11 Types of Matching Colors

John Spacey, November 26, 2019

Matching colors are sets of colors that are perceived as harmonious together. As with all color perception, this is influenced by culture and isn't a purely technical property of colors. The following are common types of matching colors.

Monochromatic

Monochromatic colors have the same hue but different levels of shading with black and tinting with white.

Blue Flame

#005e88

Dark Blue Flame

#003a55

Medium Blue Flame

#0075aa

Bright Blue Flame

#00b0ff

Light Blue Flame

#55cafe

Faded Blue Flame

#a9e4ff

Analogous Colors

Analogous colors are colors that have a similar wavelength of light or are perceived as such. They normally match barring any cultural associations that cause them to clash.

Arcade Green

#77ff77

Sunblast Yellow

#feff0f

Bright Green

#66ff00

Yellow Rose

#fff000

Caustic Green

#11dd00

Ancient Yellow

#eecd00

Warm Colors

Warm colors are reds, oranges and yellows that are perceived as warm to the touch due to their association with sunlight and fire. They generally match.

Midwinter Fire

#dd1100

Autumn Sunset

#f38554

Electric Yellow

#fffc00

Golden Yellow

#ffdf00

Crimson Red

#980001

Hawaiian Sunset

#bb5c14

Cool Colors

Cool colors are blues and greens that are perceived as cool to the touch due to their association with cool elements of nature such as vegetation and water.

Crushed Ice

#c4fff7

Algae Green

#93dfb8

Ice Climber

#25e2cd

Seafoam Green

#a7ffb5

Blue Lagoon

#00626f

Alpine Green

#005f56

Complementary Colors

Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are based on very different wavelengths of light. These produce a grey if you mix them. Complementary colors are thought to maximize contrast such that they are highly visible side-by-side. As they are often used together for purposes of visibility, they are perceived as matching.

Blue Beetle

#220099

Bright Orange

#ff4f00

Blue Night

#012389

Spicy Orange

#d73c26

Blinking Blue

#0033ff

Ultimate Orange

#ff4200

Light Colors

Light colors are colors that have be heavily mixed with white. This can tame color differences such that pure hues that clash may match when they are both saturated with white.

Ambrosia

#d2e7ca

Creamed Butter

#fffcd3

Chalk Pink

#e6c5ca

Blue Frosting

#86d2c1

Lavender Fog

#d2c4d6

Claret Red

#c84c61

Dark Colors

Mixing colors with black reduces the differences between hues such that they are more likely to match. For example, brown doesn't typically match red but they can match as dark colors.

Dark Day

#3b3f42

Barn Red

#8b4044

Dark Granite

#4f443f

Capsicum Red

#76392e

Charred Brown

#3e0007

Fired Brick

#6a2e2a

Pastels

Pastels are sticks of pure pigment that don't contain many ingredients. Unlike many art supplies they don't contain a base that improves their color saturation. This allows hues of color to be blended and mixed. As pastels are pure pigment, they often look a little washed out and faded on a white background but may look surprising colorful on another color of paper, particularly black. Named pastel colors are based on the look of pastels on a white background and typically match each other.

Pastel Magenta

#f49ac2

Pastel Red

#ff6961

Pastel Yellow

#fdfd96

Pastel Blue

#a2bffe

Pastel Cyan

#9adedb

Pastel Green

#b2fba5

Concept Colors

Colors that align to a concept such as earthy colors inspired by natural elements such as vegetation.

Forest Floor

#555142

Ploughed Earth

#6c6459

Pine Forest

#415241

Lichen

#9bc2b1

Straw Yellow

#f0d696

Charred Clay

#885132

Cultural

Colors inspired by a culture, subculture or super culture. For example, the following colors were associated with the Gothic subculture of the 1990s.

Accursed Black

#090807

Gothic Grape

#473951

Vampire Red

#dd4132

Aubergine

#372528

Sepia Black

#2b0202

Dark Violet

#34013f

Intended Symbolism

A common source of clashing colors is unintended symbolism whereby colors are accidentally selected that are strongly associated with a nation, organization or element of culture. For example, wearing red and green together may be perceived as Christmasy. If this is intended, these can be matching colors. It should be noted that color symbolism is situational and cultural and what matches in one context may have unintended symbolism in another. Practically every color combination is associated with something, the question is how strong will this perception be in a particular situation.

Christmas Red

#b01b2e

Christmas Green

#3c8d0d

Christmas Gold

#caa906

Christmas Silver

#e1dfe0

Christmas Blue

#2a8fbd

Christmas Pink

#e34285

Overview: Matching Colors
Type	Color Harmony
Definition	Sets of colors that achieve color harmony in the context in which they are used.
Applicable To	Design Composition Film Fashion Architecture Communication Branding
Related Concepts	Color Harmony » Color Perception » Monochromatic Colors » Hue » Tinting » Analogous Colors »