Khaki is classified as which type of color?

• A. Tertiary color
• B. Secondary color
• C. Primary color
• D. Neutral color

Answer: (A)

Colors are grouped by how they’re formed. A tertiary color is created by blending a primary color with a neighboring secondary color, producing a muted, blended hue rather than a pure, bright tone. Khaki is that kind of muted earth tone: it sits between yellow and brown/olive on the spectrum and results from mixing hues and desaturating to achieve a pale, khaki look. Because it isn’t a pure primary or a pure secondary, and it emerges from mixing adjacent colors to create a softened shade, it fits as a tertiary color.