How to find strong but non-vibrant color combinations

[aivarannamaa]

Hi!

I'm trying to find colors for a very small stacked bar graph (a bar is 2px wide and 5-15px high) and there is also a line (or maybe edge of a box) denoting average value behind the bars. I need to find 2 colors for the bar and one for average.

I haven't found good combinations -- either the contrast between stacked parts of the bar is not enough or the color vibrates and thus makes the edges fuzzy. I can't use borders between the parts or around the bars because of size constraints.

I wonder if there is some theory that helps finding good colors for my case.

Any keywords I should google for?
Or some general tips about using color with thin lines or text?

thanks,
Aivar

[PrintDriver]

For web or for print?

[aivarannamaa]

for cellphone display

[byte4byte]

a... Check out some of the links at:
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10381

[aivarannamaa]

colorblender seems nice!

[Ned]

Use your RGB or CMYK color wheel, and choose either opposing or 'nearest neighbour' colors. They usually go well or contrast well together.

[cjoe]

cellphone display, what are they? - 16k colors? fantastic ;)

[Sketcher]

I've always been told that the best contrasting colors were the complimentry colors (opposite colors) on the color wheel.