Triadic Colors
A triadic scheme uses three hues evenly spaced around the wheel, 120° apart, forming an equilateral triangle. It is vibrant like complementary, but more balanced because no single pair dominates.
Drag the large handle. The angle between handles is the rule: 120°.
Triadic Colors generator
| Color | HEX | RGB | HSL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2F6FDE | rgb(47, 111, 222) | hsl(218 73% 53%) | |
| #DE2F6F | rgb(222, 47, 111) | hsl(338 73% 53%) | |
| #6FDE2F | rgb(111, 222, 47) | hsl(98 73% 53%) |
How to find triadic colors
Add 120° and 240° to your base hue. The classic primaries red, yellow and blue form a triad on the RYB wheel; red, green and blue form one on the RGB wheel.
When to use it
- Playful brands, children’s products and games.
- Dashboards that need three clearly distinct categories.
- Illustration, where one hue carries the image and two are accents.
Watch out for
Three saturated hues fight for attention. Pick one as the main color (~60%), use the second for support (~30%) and the third only for accents (~10%). Hue relationships say nothing about readability, so run your text colors through the WCAG contrast checker.
Example palette
Frequently asked questions
What are the triadic colors?
Any three hues 120° apart. On the RYB wheel the primary triad is red, yellow, blue and the secondary triad is orange, green, violet. On the RGB wheel the primary triad is red, green, blue.
What is the triadic color of blue?
For pure blue (#0000FF, hue 240°) the RGB triad adds red (#FF0000, 0°) and green (#00FF00, 120°). For #3B82F6 it is #F63B82 and #82F63B.
Is triadic the same as tetradic?
No. Tetradic uses four hues (two complementary pairs); triadic uses three.