Communicating With Color

Name: Communicating With Color
Author: Joseph Tury

Learn how color choice can assist the message your logo conveys

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, in this lesson you will learn about how your color choices can affect audience perception of your brand. Take a look at these color palettes. You see palettes labeled nature, heat, and cold. The nature color scheme comes from Illustrator. When you think of nature you probably think of the outdoors and various plants and animals. The color scheme is comprised of a couple shades of green which could remind you of spring and summer plants and a couple of earthy tones which you could relate to soil, stalks, or perhaps even animal fur. For heat, you see hues of red and orange which you could probably relate to fire, lava, or molten metals. The colors are considered warm and it's easy for your brain to associate them with flames, hot sauce, or perhaps the sun. The cold column brings us several shades of blue and very dark gray. Many winter ads and photos are made up of blue hues representing snow and ice, and the dark gray could be seen as a hard, cold metal or maybe a barren landscape in the dead of winter. Take a look at several products and the colors chosen for their logos and packaging. Green Giant is a brand that specializes in vegetables. Notice the shades of green drawn from the logo, the giant illustration, and the background. Green can represent growth and the freshness of nature. Of course, many vegetables are green, or come from crops and leaves that are green, so it's easy to associate green with the brand. Obviously the name itself contains the word green, so it only makes sense to include a green hue with the logo. Next is Extra Peppermint Chewing Gum. This product is often advertised as being cool and refreshing. What better way to strengthen the claim than by using bluish hues? The company cleverly uses blue throughout the packaging, which because of its shape can be perceived as a block of ice. The logo is in white, which can be associated with snow. Frank's hot sauce goes the completely opposite direction by using reddish and orange hues in its logotype and label. As previously noted, these are primary hues for indicating heat. In Western culture, these hues can represent these definitions. Red can be perceived as passion, anger, love, and heat. Yellow can be perceived as joy, caution, warmth, and in some instances, cowardice. Green is obviously associated with nature, money, growth, and success. Blue is associated with knowledge, calm, business, cold of course, and water. Purple is often associated with royalty, wisdom, and imagination. And orange is also associated with heat, energy, and creativity. Be aware that different cultures associate some hues differently. In western cultures, black is seen as a morning color, while in others, white is used in times of grief. Pay attention to where your brand logo will be seen and take care to choose appropriate colors that can be associated with the brand identity. In the next lesson, I will discuss researching and developing a color palette to use with your brand and logo design.

Intermediate Provider : Joseph Tury 6 Lessons · 26m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

One of the most satisfying aspects of logo design is developing a proper color palette—but it’s wise to research color design principles before committing to specific hues. Adobe Illustrator has several useful tools for color including swatches, color guides, and specialty tools that can take your logo design to the next level. However, it’s also important to understand the ramifications of using two or more colors, as well as the differences between designing for print vs. digital, so you get the most accurate color interpretation for your brand logos.

In these lessons, we’ll explain why color choice matters in a logo and how to research and develop a color palette for a brand. You will discover how to utilize the Swatches panel in Illustrator, and we’ll go over some of the more advanced color tools, along with how to separate colors for the printing process. We’ll also go over the difference between CMYK, RGB, hex colors, and spot colors.

What You'll Learn

Research and develop a color palette for a brand
Recognize how color choice affects audience perception of a brand
Use the Swatches panel and color tools in Adobe Illustrator
Apply advanced color techniques to logo design
Separate colors in vector designs for the printing process
Distinguish between CMYK, RGB, hex colors, and spot colors

Key Takeaways

Color choice in a logo matters because colors affect how audiences perceive a brand.
Adobe Illustrator offers tools for color including swatches, color guides, and specialty tools for logo design.
It is important to understand the differences between designing for print versus digital to get accurate color interpretation for brand logos.
Colors can be separated for the printing process when working with vector designs.
CMYK, RGB, hex colors, and spot colors are different color codes covered in the course.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It explains why color choice matters in a logo, how to research and develop a color palette for a brand, how to use the Swatches panel and advanced color tools in Adobe Illustrator, how to separate colors for printing, and the differences between CMYK, RGB, hex colors, and spot colors.

Which software is used in this course?

The course uses Adobe Illustrator and its color tools, including swatches, color guides, and specialty color tools.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will gain skills in color grading, color management, color mixing, color palette development, color printing, and using color tools.

Does the course address print versus digital color?

Yes, it covers the differences between designing for print versus digital and how to separate colors for the printing process so you get the most accurate color interpretation for brand logos.