Electric blue pairs beautifully with electric orange, and neon yellow makes an unexpectedly good teammate for bright purple. So, neon green pairs well with neon magenta, because green is complementary to magenta. Ultra-bright versions of primary and secondary colors follow the same complementary rules as their more subdued relations. Three of these bright hues- UFO Green, Plastic Pink, and Proton Purple-were named by Shutterstock as the colors growing fastest in popularity in 2019 across web design, photography, and print. Yellow- Neon Yellow, Bright Chartreuse, or Absinthe.Pink- Neon (or “Plastic”) Pink, Neon Magenta.Green- Neon (or “UFO”) Green, Electric Lime.There is a fluorescent or ultra-bright version of almost every primary and secondary color, including: The gas element neon actually only produces a red-orange color, but the word neon can broadly apply to a wide range of fluorescent and ultra-bright colors. Color wheel image by contributor Julia Murchenko. Here, ultra-bright hues are scattered throughout, as relations of their primary or secondary color relations. On digital color wheels neon hues are more prevalent, because their composition is better suited to a light-emitting RGB color model. To create neon colors in print, designers will often turn instead to specialist pigments such as Pantone spot colors. This makes fluorescence near-impossible to achieve. Even now, because neon colors have to emit light to appear fluorescent, they are difficult to achieve using standard print design methods.įor example, because CMYK is an additive color model, the layering of colored inks “muddies” the final color result. Traditional painters’ color wheels that predate the 20th Century don’t feature neon colors due to the fact that these super-bright pigments were later created using chemical methods. When the emitted light falls in the visible spectrum of light that can be seen by the human eye, the luminescence is rendered in color. Where do Neon Colors Sit on a Color Wheel?įluorescent or neon colors are extremely bright versions of primary and secondary colors, such as blue, red, green, yellow and purple.įluorescent colors stand apart from other types of color due to the fact that they emit light, making them luminescent. Hungry for more color inspiration? Discover a beautiful spectrum of colors to use in your designs with our new color tool. Skip to the end of the article to find three cutting-edge neon color palettes inspired by Miami sunsets, Indian festivals, and the natural world. Image by contributor Katya Havok.ĭiscover a range of striking neon colors to use in digital and print design, as well as pick up tips for using bright and bold colors in your work. In line with a revival of 1980s design styles, artificial-inspired neons are used by creatives to attract the viewer’s attention and give designs a summery or nightlife-themed mood. Enliven your work with these tips and neon color palettes. Electrifying and intense, fluorescent neon colors inject excitement and energy into designs.

Neon colors