Split complementary is the friendlier cousin of complementary. You keep the visual tension of opposing hues, but the two accents are softened because they are not pure complements. Good default for UI design.
Color glossary
Split Complementary Palette
A base color plus the two colors adjacent to its complement.
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Primary Color
The signature hue that identifies a brand and drives main CTAs and navigation surfaces.
Secondary Color
A supporting hue that complements the primary, used for less critical UI like tags, secondary buttons, and chart series.
Accent Color
A high-saturation contrast color used sparingly to emphasize one or two elements per screen.
WCAG Contrast Ratio
The luminance ratio between two colors, used by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to measure legibility.
Monochrome Palette
A palette built from a single hue, varying only saturation and lightness.
Analogous Palette
Three colors adjacent on the color wheel, typically within 30 degrees of each other.