Complementary colors: A literature review

Abstract

Articles from a broad search of the literature dating from 1704 are cited and described briefly in order to provide an overview of complementary colors and associated research areas, especially chromatic induction (ie, complementary afterimages) as the principal research area. The literature shows that complementary colors have roles in all aspects of color appearance and color vision. Forty specific roles are described, which can be divided into three general roles of complementary color: color mixture, color constancy (or chromatic adaptation), and color perception (or appearance).