Chapter 9 Color…

Objectives Appreciate the appeal of color in your designs. Learn the secret messages of color. Gain familiarity with RGB, CMYK, and PMS colors. Garner a stronger understanding of color.

Getting Started With Color Color can make your pages more appealing, attract attention, and clarify a message. The wrong color can impair legibility and detract from a message. Trying to choose the perfect color for a page can slow down a novice designer’s productivity.

Getting Started With Color Designers often try out color combinations onscreen to see how they look.

Color and Culture Color can mean different things in different cultures. - White in Chinese culture symbolizes death. - White in Western cultures implies innocence, purity, and cleanliness. - Research color meanings for international audiences to avoid mixed messages.

The Secret Messages of Color (1 of 4) To viewers from Western Cultures, colors have general meanings: - Red: the color of passion, violence, and confidence. - Orange: meanings similar to red, but with an earthy, natural feel. - Yellow: bright yellow implies happiness, optimism, and positive energy.

The Secret Messages of Color (2 of 4) - Green: suggests nature, growth, nurturing, and has a stable, reassuring effect. - Blue: color of water and sky, a serene color whose darker ranges suggest dignity. - Light Blue: Bright, light blues suggest strength, youthfulness and vibrant positive energy.

The Secret Messages of Color (3 of 4) - Purple: Associated with royalty, dark purples are dignified and sophisticated. - Lavenders: suggest a feminine, elegant quality. - Gold: suggest stability, quality, and sophistication.

The Secret Messages of Color (4 of 4) - Silver: implies high technology and modern industrial age. - Metallic Colors: references technology, modernity, and seem avant-garde.

Color on a computer monitor is rendered in RGB (Red, Green, And Blue) colors. Color and Computers

Color on Printing Presses (1 of 2) Full color print pages are printed using CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) colors. On a full-color printing press, each color is set up in its own color printing plate.

Color on Printing Presses (2 of 2) This figure shows from left to right the CMYK color separations, and on right, the resulting full-color image.

PMS and Spot Colors (1 of 3) Graphic designers commonly use the PMS (Pantone Matching System) to specify colors. Each color in a PMS swatch book has an associated color-mixing recipe. Pantone produces many varieties of color swatch books; pastels, RGB to Process (CMYK), metallics, and others.

PMS and Spot Colors (2 of 3) Printers (press operators and plate makers) reference the color-mixing recipe when physically mixing the ink for a print job. With due diligence, this ensures color fidelity. Unless a designer has a fully calibrated computer system, it is safer to specify color from the PMS swatch book than from monitor colors.

PMS and Spot Colors (3 of 3) When a designer uses one or two colors in a design, they specify spot colors. Spot colors, specified from a PMS swatch book, is economical. Avoid using both spot colors and CMYK colors in the same file as this will produce many unnecessary color separations.

Tips for Using Color (1 of 4) Use color to attract attention to important text or images. Pick colors that work with your concept.

Tips for Using Color (2 of 4) Use color consistently to organize a page (i.e. set all headlines in the same color). In multiple-page designs, use consistent color to organize and unify the pages. Avoid vibrant color combinations in pages with lots of small text.

Tips for Using Color (3 of 4) Use light-colored images as background elements to add visual interest to your design. Use lots of contrast between type color and background color to ensure readability.

Tips for Using Color (4 of 4) Limit colors on a page until you’re more confident in picking colors. Study design annuals and magazines for how other people use color.

Color Example: Color and Readability Lack of contrast can impair readability. Type on a bright background is difficult to read (top). The same color type on a lighter background contrasts better and is easier to read (bottom).

Color Example: Color and Readability Type that crosses color fields looses legibility and is hard to read (left). Type on a single, light colored background is easier to read (right).

Chapter Summary (1 of 2) Color adds visual impact. Color meanings are often cultural determined. When designing for an international audience research color meanings. Computer monitors display color via RGB emitted light.

Chapter Summary (2 of 2) Full-color printed pages use CMYK colors Designers and printers use the PMS color system to ensure color fidelity in printed projects. One or two color jobs are specified using spot PMS colors.

ASSIGNMENT Pick five words from the list below and select five colors for each that you believe represent the meaning of the word: anger serenity dependable depressed minimal festive violent pristine wholesome transcendent passion dignity sensual fanciful loud delicate classic woodsy sweet dysfunctional