Tertiary Colors: What They Are and How to Use Them in a Logo Palette
Tertiary colors mix a primary with an adjacent secondary. Learn the six hues, how color models change them, and how to build and prepare them in vector logo artwork.
Contents
Tertiary colors are the six hues made by mixing a primary color with the secondary color next to it on the color wheel. On the traditional painter's wheel, they are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet. In a logo palette, they work as accent or supporting colors, or as a distinctive main color. They are less predictable than pure primaries and stay related to them, which keeps the palette coherent.
The six tertiary colors
| Tertiary color | Primary component | Secondary component |
| Red-orange | Red | Orange |
| Yellow-orange | Yellow | Orange |
| Yellow-green | Yellow | Green |
| Blue-green | Blue | Green |
| Blue-violet | Blue | Violet |
| Red-violet | Red | Violet |
By convention, the primary is named first, which gives hyphenated names such as blue-green rather than green-blue. Brand guides and software often use common names instead, such as vermilion, amber, chartreuse, teal, indigo or magenta. Treat these as approximate labels, not fixed definitions.
Some older color theory uses "tertiary" for a different idea: a mix of two secondary colors, which produces muted tones in the brown, olive and slate range. If a brief or brand document uses the term, check which meaning it intends before choosing swatches.
Why the color model changes the answer
A color model is the system that defines how colors are built. The primaries differ between models, so the tertiaries differ too. Logo artwork is often delivered for screens and print, so it helps to know which wheel a palette was built on.
| Model | Typical use | Primaries | Secondaries | Tertiaries |
| RYB (traditional) | Art and design education, conceptual palette planning | Red, yellow, blue | Orange, green, violet | Red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet |
| RGB (additive light) | Screens, web, apps, video | Red, green, blue | Cyan, magenta, yellow | Orange, chartreuse, spring green, azure, violet, rose |
| CMYK (subtractive process ink) | Commercial print | Cyan, magenta, yellow (plus black) | Red, green, blue | Intermediate mixes between those inks |
In practice, designers often plan relationships on the RYB wheel and then define exact values in RGB, CMYK or a spot-color system for each output. A spot color is a premixed ink specified by a matching system rather than built from process inks. A tertiary that looks right on screen may not convert exactly to print, so each output version needs its own defined value.
How to use tertiary colors in a logo palette
- 1. Decide the role of the tertiary. It can be the main brand color, a secondary color or a small accent. That role controls how much area it covers in the mark.
- 2. Choose a harmony. Common options are analogous palettes (neighboring hues, such as yellow-green with green and blue-green), complementary pairs (opposite hues, such as red-orange with blue-green) and tertiary triads (three evenly spaced tertiaries, such as red-orange, yellow-green and blue-violet).
- 3. Limit the number of hues. A logo needs to stay recognizable at small sizes and in reduced-color versions, so keep the core palette tight. Put extra tertiaries in the wider brand palette, not the mark itself.
- 4. Vary value as well as hue. Value means lightness or darkness. Two tertiaries of similar lightness can blur together, so pair a dark tertiary with a light one, or with a neutral.
- 5. Plan reduced versions. Set the one-color, black, white and reversed versions of the logo before finalizing. That way the design never depends on the tertiary hue alone to be understood.
Preparing tertiary colors in vector artwork
In vector files, colors should be defined as named swatches, not as scattered fill values. Most vector editors support global swatches, where editing the swatch updates every object that uses it. This keeps a tertiary consistent across the mark, the wordmark and any lockups.
- Name swatches by role and color, for example "Primary – blue-green", so other people handling the file can identify them.
- Set the document color mode to match the deliverable: RGB for screen files, CMYK for process print files. Supply separate files instead of relying on automatic conversion.
- If the brand uses spot colors, define them as spot swatches so a printer can identify them. Record the spot reference only if it has actually been specified.
- Remove unused swatches and check that no stray, near-duplicate tertiary values remain in the artwork.
- List the defined values for each output in the brand guide or delivery notes, so the color can be reproduced without opening the source file.
A file extension alone does not prove that a logo is pure vector, uses clean swatches or is licensed for reuse. Open the file and inspect the swatches and objects before relying on it. Confirm usage rights separately.
Verifying the result
- View the logo in grayscale to confirm that adjacent tertiaries stay distinguishable by value.
- Test the logo at its smallest intended size, where similar hues tend to merge.
- Check contrast against the backgrounds the logo will actually appear on, especially for text in the wordmark.
- Compare the screen version with a physical print proof. Tertiary hues can shift noticeably between the two.
- Confirm that the one-color and reversed versions still read clearly without the tertiary.
What this guide does not cover
No subject-specific evidence was supplied for this guide, so it does not give exact color values, spot-color references, conversion results or industry statistics. Those depend on the specific brand, output process and printer. Get them from the brand's own standards, the print provider or measured proofs, and do not copy generic examples.