Color Theory Lab

re-anchor the wheel · replace yellow as the base

Replace yellow as the base

In the standard hue wheel, yellow occupies hue ≈ 60° and sits at the top. This lab anchors a new hue at yellow's seat and rebuilds the entire 12-step wheel around it by rotating every segment by the same offset. Because the rotation is uniform, the angular relationships that define color harmony (complement = 180°, triad = 120°, …) are preserved exactly — only their absolute hues shift.

Choose the new base hue

#dada3e

hue 60° · offset +0° from yellow

Before · after

Classic · yellow-anchored (hue 60° at top)

→

Re-anchored · #dada3e at the top (+0°)

Derived harmonies (computed from the new base by exact hue rotation)

Complementary

#dada3e0°

#3e3eda180°

Base + 180°. The single strongest contrast pair.

Analogous

#da8c3e0°

#dada3e30°

#8cda3e60°

Base ± 30°. Neighbors on the wheel — calm, cohesive.

Triadic

#dada3e0°

#3edada120°

#da3eda240°

Base + 120° + 240°. Three evenly spaced hues — vivid and balanced.

Split-complementary

#dada3e0°

#3e8cda150°

#8c3eda210°

Base + the two hues flanking its complement (180° ± 30°).

Tetradic (rectangle)

#dada3e0°

#3eda8c90°

#3e3eda180°

#da3e8c270°

Two complementary pairs at 90° — four rich, contrasting hues.

No Fibs — Honest limitations

All hues here are computed by uniform rotation in the HSL color space — a standard color-theory method and the exact same arithmetic a designer uses when rotating a hue wheel. The angular relationships (30°, 120°, 180°, …) are exact. What this does not model: HSL is not perceptually uniform (equal hue steps are not equal perceived steps), and pigment/ink mixing (RYB/CMYK) behaves differently from light (RGB) mixing. So treat the swatches as a precise hue-rotation tool, not a paint-mixing simulator.