A color scheme consisting of one color and the two colors located on either side of its opposite color is which scheme?

• A. Analogous color scheme
• B. Monochromatic color scheme
• C. Complementary colors/scheme
• D. Split-complementary color scheme

Answer: (D)

Split-complementary color schemes involve one base color plus the two colors adjacent to its opposite on the color wheel. This creates strong contrast like a complementary pair, but with the clash softened by using the neighboring hues of the opposite color, giving a lively yet balanced palette. The description in the question—the base color plus the two colors on either side of its opposite—fits this pattern exactly, making split-complementary the best choice. The other options don’t match: analogous uses colors next to each other, monochromatic uses variations of one hue, and a true complementary pairing uses only the base color and its exact opposite.