It might seem easy to just combine colors that you love but using color theory to learn which colors work together can save you from a costly mistake. Every color has its basis on the color wheel, so that's the best place to start when you're creating a color scheme. The color wheel is centered with the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow , as the basis of all secondary and tertiary colors. Primary Colors: Red , Yellow , Blue ( Royal Blue , Navy Blue ). They cannot be created using any other colors or combinations. Secondary Colors: Include green ( Olive Green ), orange , and purple . Secondary colors are created by mixing primary colors. Tertiary Colors: Created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. Look for names like 'blue-green' or 'red-orange' to indicate that a color is tertiary.