The color wheel’s roots date back to the mid-1600s when Sir Isaac Newton’s work with white light led him to the discovery of the visible spectrum of light. While the study of Calculus may not have been your thing back in design school, the person who developed it influenced the color wheel you use today.
Sir Isaac Newton and Color Notation
Newton included musical notes correlated with color beginning with red and dividing the circle by the musical scale starting with D and ending with the octave of D in his original color wheel (1704).
- Violet and purple colors are located next to red since they are considered non-spectral and mixtures of red and violet light.
Sir Isaac Newton’s Discovery and the Color Wheel
The color wheel is the visible spectrum of colors placed on a wheel.
- Its ability to help designers create appealing palettes by applying the underlying theory of the color wheel with the way we see color.
More Color Possibilities with the Munsell Color Wheel
Organizes books of color like the color wheel, but with even more color possibilities
- Helps designers organize their color resources more effectively and gives them more control over what they’re working on
- Best for designers: easy to reference and adaptable
