9 Colors That Go Well With Orange

Are you curious about what colors go best with orange? Stick around as we share the answer and explain why.

Any art and design practitioner knows that it is important to use colors that work well with each other.

This lets you create work that shows harmony and dynamic. In doing so, it is important to know which hues go with the one you choose to focus on.

Now, determining whether two colors harmonize with each other can be based simply on your preference.

However, there is a more technical way to know if the hues match well.

If you are thinking of working with the color orange, you can easily find out what colors go well with it.

Interested in knowing which hue to use to highlight orange? You will need to brush up on the color wheel.

To refresh your knowledge, keep reading…

The Color Wheel

Think back to your very first art lesson. Whether it was with your parents or with your preschool teacher, the color wheel was surely your very first exposure to color theory.

You will probably remember that the color wheel is composed of primary, secondary, and tertiary hues.

Primaries, the most basic of colors, are red, blue, and yellow.

Mix two of them together and you will get secondaries, namely orange, green, and purple.

Now, take one primary and one secondary and combine them. The result is a tertiary color.

These are the most fundamental colors that can help any student expand their palette.

When you use black, gray, and white to enhance your colors, you are creating tones, shades, and tints.

Combining these neutrals can help you make lighter and darker colors, depending on which you use and how much.

Now that you know about the most basic color combinations, you are ready to learn about how these hues are arranged to create the wheel.

This calls for a review of color relations. Read on…

Color Relations

To achieve the circular formation of the color wheel, the hues are arranged based on their relation to one another.

Colors that bear similarities are placed near each other.

For example, red-purple sits next to red followed by red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, and so on.

The first three colors mentioned are closely related to one another, which means that they belong in a group of analogous colors.

Aside from these closely related hues, you also need to know about complementary colors or those that are dissimilar.

These usually sit opposite each other on the wheel. Look at any color wheel to see which colors are complementaries.

For example, you will see that green sits across from red on the wheel. This means that these two colors are dissimilar yet complement each other.

Knowing what the major color relation groups are, you might have a clue as to what colors go well with orange. See the answer below…

What Colors Go With Orange?

To put it simply, orange sits exactly across from blue, which means that blues complement orange.

Varieties of blue such as Absolute Zero, Alaskan Blue, Alice Blue and Arctic Blue would all work with this citrusy hue.

The key to finding the right combination is to look at what type of orange you have and see how it looks with different kinds of blue, as well as purple.

Because orange is analogous to yellow-orange, red-orange, red and yellow, you can bet that these hues will create a harmonious design.

Just like with blues, you can also experiment with different kinds of reds and yellows.

You will be delighted to know that orange goes well with browns and gold, especially as these colors accentuate the bright characteristic of orange, while orange helps emphasize the shimmer of gold.

Brown offers a nice, dark contrast to these two cheerful and glittery hues. This is the reason why you can also use black to highlight orange.

If you are into lighter tints, you can use creamy and pastel colors along with orange.

Crisp and bright whites are also a welcome sight when paired with this hue. This also applies to pink, gray, apricot, persimmon, and other similar light colors.

Orange and Its Complementaries in Art and Design

As mentioned, blue and orange look good together and this is evident in notable works of art. Just take a look at Vincent van Gogh’s Olive Grove – Orange Sky.

This shows how an orange atmosphere can complement the blues of the sky, as well as the shadows of a verdant landscape.

When it comes to design, you can combine light or dark colors depending on your goal. For your interiors, you can use darker hues with orange to create a cozy ambiance, while lighter ones will open up the space.

Conclusion

It is always important to use colors that go well with each other to create agreeable work. If you want to use orange, you might want to try the aforementioned colors to enhance your design.