Design on an Empty Palette

Creating a color palette is one of the most challenging aspects of D.I.Y. design. While there is no right or wrong approach I thought I’d share a few tips from the pros to help spur the creative process along.

Take a design tip from Mother Nature

Peacock feathers make a beautiful cool palette

Artists often find inspiration in their natural surroundings. Look to flower gardens, bird feathers, even stones on the beach, for colors that coordinate naturally.

Natural elements also introduce texture, another source of design inspiration. Think birch bark and your mind goes to the colors and textures associated with these papery trees. Sometimes you just need to get out the office and take a walk in the woods. Pick up bits and pieces along the way that inspire you. Then get our your scanner. You’d be amazed what I’ve run through my flatbed scanner. Leaves, hand-blown glass perfume bottles, a charm bracelet, you name it.

Draw Inspiration from the Masters

Impressionist artists like Van Gogh were masters of color, often blending several to get the look of one.

Artists throughout history studied color theory and light. Monet’s soft pastel water gardens, Mondrian’s bold linear color compositions and who can forget Warhol’s pop art? Why reinvent the Mona Lisa? Pull color combinations from your favorite artist’s work.

You don’t need to be an art historian to know what you like. From soft and subtle earth tones of the Renaissance to the bold fields of color in modern art, there’s limitless inspiration in studying the masters.

Color Trend through Time

You can TOTALLY spot an '80s inspired look

Different periods and perspectives in art often shared similar colors as well. So if you love art deco, you’ll probably like the colors of that era.

Compare the psychedelic colors of the ’70s to the preppy ’80s. Color trends of the times will translate into all realms of consumerism. From fashion to architecture to album covers and t-shirts. Our past is a great resource for design inspiration. So don’t be shy. Pull out your Pink Floyd albums, sort through high school photographs and memorabilia and see if you can’t find some nostalgia that plucks a colorful chord.

Compare, copy or contrast

Spot the color similarities among these beer logos

Take a look at businesses or products already on the market; especially Nationally known brands. You may notice color trends within your industry. Now look at your project and decide if you want to align yourself or distance yourself from the competition. Choose your palette according to the response you hope to achieve.

Take these beer logos for example. This is but a small selection of Nationally known brands. And yet it’s easy to spot some common color choices. Is this the result of shared marketing strategists or ad agencies. Not likely. But they all have one thing in common. They sell beer. And perhaps their big-bucks ad agencies have done the research to indicate which colors appeal to the beer drinkers of the world. Now it’s up to you to decide. Go with what works, or buck the system.

The truth is, when it comes to creating a color palette for your next product or ad campaign there is no one answer. So have a little fun. Dive in and get your hands dirty (take a walk), consult your design experts (flip through some art history books) and do a little market research (browse the shelves of a grocery store if you have to), then take the color wheel for a spin.

Color inspiration resources

Colour Lovers: millions of color palettes at your disposal
Polyvore: fashion inspired colors (as seen in the 80s image above)
Color Palette Generator: upload your own image and create color palettes automatically

 

CMYK, RGB, PMS, huh? Understanding Color Formats

CMYK, PMS, RGB, It may look like industry jargon, but these color abbreviations are something every D.I.Y. designer must understand. Knowing which format to use, why and when, will make all your design and printing experiences go more smoothly.

There are dozens of different color formatting options out there in the wide world of design. But for the sake of a general audience I’m going to focus on the three most common, and most widely used formats: CMYK, PMS and RGB.

First thing’s first. Many new D.I.Y. designers would ask, “why can’t I just use one color logo for everything?” That’s a fair question. To which I respond, “Do you wear one coat for all occasions?” Probably not. You need a raincoat when it rains because other materials will soak through. You need a warm coat when it’s 30 degrees below zero in case your car gets stuck in the snow and you have to dig it out. And when you’re headed to a wedding in a beautiful silk dress, or well tailored suit, you’d hate to cover that up in a camo print bomber jacket that smells like woodsmoke from the cabin. So is it such a stretch to believe that one color logo isn’t enough?

Now that you realize the need for multiple color formats, let’s look at the options. All color formats fall into two main groups that can be determined by asking yourself a simple question: Ink or Light?

Ink
All printed or manufactured materials—from advertising, to branding and packaging, clothing and textiles—use printed inks that reflect color. The color formats most common for these uses are CMYK and PMS.

Light
Digitally produced images, such as those on websites, or TV, are generated by Light, not ink. For these uses RGB is the industry standard.

Best uses for CMYK, PMS and RGB

Each of these color formats has it’s purpose, much like your collection of coats. Here’s a quick reference so you know when to use each color format, and why.

CMYK color graphic

CMYK

These initials stand for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black; the four ink colors used in off-set printing. The way it works is by overlapping tiny dots of transparent inks which appear to create a new blended color. Most colors can be reproduced efficiently in a CMYK format.
Recommended Uses: print advertising that appears in full color
Pros: gradients, blends, photos and multi-colored images are easily created in CMYK.
Cons: some colors cannot be created in process format. CMYK is also effected by the production process; the printer, the material surface you’re printing on, etc. Expect some degree of variation.

PMS swatchbook

PMS

Stands for Pantone Matching System. PMS is recognized world wide in dozens of industries from fashion and textiles to advertising. PMS colors, often referred to as Spot Colors, are custom mixed inks created by the Pantone corporation. They can be more intense since they are an opaque ink unlike transparent processed color inks. They can also include metallics, florescent, pastels and other colors you cannot create with CMYK.
Recommeded uses: print/textile production with limited colors
Pros: you get exactly the color you expect.
Cons: most printing charges are based on the number of inks you use, and you’ll be limited to 6 at the most. Printing in PMS can get pricey once you’re using more than 4 colors.

RGB is the standard format for all digital color images

RGB

All digital colors are created by combining three wavelengths of the light spectrum: Red Green and Blue. R, G and B can be produced in 256 depths each, which makes the possible color combinations over 16 million. And since we’re viewing the source of that light, rather than a reflection, these colors can be much brighter and more intense than anything we can create with printed inks.
Recommended uses: anything digital (including TV)
Pros: vivid colors in as wide a spectrum as you can imagine. No limit to number of colors in any project.
Cons: RGB colors must be converted to CMYK in order to print. Since CMYK doesn’t have the range of RGB many times the color will reproduce darker and more dull.

Web/HEX

This is a formatting system I know little about, but it bears mentioning as the internet is such a part of our design world now. Some of my favorite color resource websites like ColourLovers.com focus on the HEX colors used online. These colors are named with 6 numbers and/or letters and they represent every possible color in the RGB spectrum. Every blog or website uses these colors in their formatting.

Do you need to have a WEB/HEX version of your logo? Maybe. If you have one set-up in RGB your’re probably all set. But creating a color palette specifically for the web is something that might best be left to the guru’s that are building your site.

So the next time someone asks for your color logo, hopefully you’ll be able to answer, “Would you like that in CMYK, RGB or PMS?” And this time you’ll actually know what you’re talking about.