Each color is perceived in relation to other colors. The top and bottom bars each contain the same component colors, but a different display order causes individual colors to appear differently.
Original Processing.org Example: Relativity
// All Examples Written by Casey Reas and Ben Fry // unless otherwise stated. color a, b, c, d, e; void setup() { size(200, 200); noStroke(); a = color(165, 167, 20); b = color(77, 86, 59); c = color(42, 106, 105); d = color(165, 89, 20); e = color(146, 150, 127); noLoop(); } void draw() { drawBand(a, b, c, d, e, 0, 4); drawBand(c, a, d, b, e, height/2, 4); } void drawBand(color v, color w, color x, color y, color z, int ypos, int barWidth) { int num = 5; color[] colorOrder = { v, w, x, y, z }; for(int i = 0; i < width; i += barWidth*num) { for(int j = 0; j < num; j++) { fill(colorOrder[j]); rect(i+j*barWidth, ypos, barWidth, height/2); } } }