Selecting Your Color Palette

Photo by Macy Maynard

SELECTING YOUR COLOR PALETTE

SELECTING YOUR COLOR PALLET

Color has the ability to influence mood, evoke emotions, attract attention and take on cultural meaning. With the unlimited number of color combinations available, selecting your color palette can be one of the most daunting design decisions you will make for your yearbook. From traditional and sophisticated to bold and playful, the colors you select will set the tone of your book. When used effectively, your color scheme becomes one of the first elements to catch the attention of your viewer and can also tie the entire book together. Before you make a final decision on that perfect palette, you should first understand theories of colors.

Photo by Kennedy Brown

1

COLOR TERMS Knowing basic color terminology will help you better understand which colors might work well together and what kind of effect different combinations will create within your design. • RGB Represented on computer screen; colors created by using small dots of red, green and blue • Spot Color A single color; often spot colors are used as one color on black and white pages. These colors can include metallic and fluorescents, and are usually a Pantone color (think of a specially mixed paint color). • Warm Colors Reds, oranges and yellows, which are vivid, energetic and appear to move toward the viewer • Cool Colors Greens, blues and purples, which give a feeling of calmness • Hue Synonymous with “color” or the name of a specific color • Saturation Intensity of a color • Value Lightness or darkness of a color • Tint A color/hue lightened with white • Tone A color/hue dulled with gray (adding gray to a color reduces saturation) • Shade A color/hue darkened with black COLOR WHEEL

The human eye can see millions of colors — but don’t worry, you only have to pick 3-7 to use in your book! Take a look at this simple color wheel to help understand colors’ relationships with each other.

When you mix the primary colors red, yellow and blue, you get the secondary colors on the color wheel: orange, green and violet. Mix the secondary colors with the primary colors, and you get the third level of the color wheel, the tertiary colors. Those include red-orange, yellow orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet. Adding white, gray and black to these colors will give you an even larger palette of colors from which to choose.

Photo by Katherine Severin

2

PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR Although certain colors evoke specific feelings to each individual, different combinations of colors can give off additional meanings. Cultures have assigned meaning to colors based on how and where they see them used most often. Red Exciting, bold, strength: Design

Purple Royal, creative, unique: Lighter shades can be seen as feminine while darker shades come across as luxurious. Black Sophisticated, formal, stylish: Used more than any other colors due to the wide range of feelings it communicates. Most colors appear more vibrant next to black. White Light, pure, peaceful: White communicates cleanliness and simplicity. Designers will sometimes use a lot of white space for a minimalistic look.

with red when your theme needs to be associated with life (blood) or warmth (fire). Orange Happy, friendly, energetic: Use to communicate youthfulness. Yellow Playful, creative, confident: Use to capture attention, such as warning signs. Green Fresh, natural, wealth: Use for designs that want to come off as safe or like nature. Blue Calm, conservative, cool: One of the most versatile colors to design with. It can be a dominant, accent or in some cases, can be used as a neutral, representing stability.

What is your color personality? Download the quiz at walsworthyearbooks.com/ color-quiz .

Photo by Abigail Frankenberry

3

BASIC COLOR SCHEMES

MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEMES The word “monochromatic” means “one color,” from the Greek and Latin root words mono (one) and chroma (color). This color scheme uses variations in the saturation and lightness of an individual color. Monochromatic color schemes tend to be unified and seen as clean and elegant. This color combination also tends to be soothing, but often lacks excitement. If you choose a monochromatic color scheme, consider using tints, shades and tones of the main color. This will give more variety and contrast among the colors. ANALOGOUS COLOR SCHEME From the word “analogy,” which means “similar,” an analogous color scheme uses colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. One color is selected as the dominant color (usually the middle color), while others are used for accents. The analogous color scheme, like monochromatic, is calming and serene but offers a broader range of the color wheel. This color combination often creates schemes found in nature. If you choose to use this type of color combination, try not to mix cool and warm colors. COMPLEMENTARY COLOR SCHEMES This scheme consists of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. A complementary scheme creates a vibrant, lively effect when you place a warm color against a cool color, each in their full saturation. For example, yellow next to purple or orange next to blue creates a high contrast and draws maximum attention. Make sure you use this color scheme in small doses when you want an element to stand out.

4

START WITH A PLAN Before you begin selecting colors, check to see how the school community feels about the use of your school colors and the mascot. Every school is different, but some have stronger feelings about the use of school colors. If you must use school colors, a large part of your palette has already been selected for you. School colors tend to make the book more marketable to students and parents. If you don’t have to use school colors, they can still be considered when creating your palette. The theme message and mood you want to evoke should be the main considerations when choosing your colors. If you choose or must include one (or all) of the school colors as a part of your palette, know that you will automatically have a color in the palette that works well with school photos on your spreads, especially sports pages. In instances where the best photos for the page do not ensure a compatible color choice, you can always use a neutral color from your palette rather than a clashing color from the dominant photo. DOMINANT AND ACCENT COLORS Applying color to a design project has a lot to do with balance. The more colors you use, the more complicated it is to achieve balance, so try to select anywhere from three to seven colors. When selecting these colors, make sure you break the palette into a dominant color and accent colors. A dominant color is dominant either because of how much it appears in the design, or because of how it stands out in comparison with other colors in your palette. The theme and the overall feel of the book should always be considered when choosing your combination. Look at the whole picture when considering colors for your palette, not just the individual colors. You may not like a single color, but it may work really well within a set of colors. For example, a popular trend is to select a palette that has a set of bold colors that can be used to represent each section of your book. All these colors can be introduced on the cover, repeated on the endsheets and then used for each division section of the book.

Photo by Ashlin Regulinski

5

This technique works really well when designing chronological books and allows the viewer to make assumptions on how to easily navigate through the book. USE THIS CHECKLIST TO SELECT YOUR COLOR COMBINATION: 1. One bold/saturated color . This color should be vibrant and eye-catching, and should be the color you select first. You will use this color for accents and central parts of your design. This is your dominant color. 2. One contrast color. This color can be the complement to your dominant color. Use this color when you need to break up your scheme. 3. One or two dark colors. Used for headline text and accents. Make sure these colors are dark enough so the font you select for your headlines and subheads is readable. 4. One or two light colors . Used for backgrounds and other large areas of color. Make sure they are light enough that text could be written on them and still be readable. 5. One neutral color. Used in backgrounds and accents. It is necessary to ground your color scheme. This could be white, black, tints of black or shades of tan. You will use the dominant color most often in your design, while the other colors will help complement the dominant color. For your set of colors, make sure you consider the saturation and tone of all the colors. Try to keep the same saturation, vibrancy and tone to ensure the colors work well together. Even though your colors should have the same saturation, it is possible to use shades and tints of your dominant color to give you more options for color on your spreads. This is a good option for large background areas with an overlay of type. Using shades and tints of the dominant color will keep the design uniform and you won’t be introducing too many “new” colors into your palette. You should also think about how your palette will work with the visual elements you are using throughout the book. For example, if you are using transparent boxes or bars on photos or just as a graphic element, remember that when the opacity is taken down on certain colors, the color can change – red becomes pink! Most important – make sure you have selected a color combination that you like before you start implementing your design!

Photo by Paulette Reynoso

6

SAMPLE OF A DEFINED PALETTE This color palette includes the dark teal, mint green, coral, yellow and mauve. These same colors are used for headlines and graphic elements throughout the book. Each of the colors is also used to designate a specific section of the book, evident by the color used on the folio.

“YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF IT” The Farmer , Lewisville High School, Lewisville, Texas

7

USING SCHOOL COLORS The school colors are blue and yellow, accented with black and white. The color scheme is introduced on the cover and used on the endsheets, title page and division spreads, with touches of blue on content spreads within the book. Using these colors builds the unified look of the book. The use of the blue greatly enhances the colors in the photos on the spreads. For a fun surprise that tied to their theme, the school used a thermal UV over the theme words on the cover. When the words “now you see us” are exposed to heat, you will see pictures of the student body in the letters.

“NOW YOU SEE US” Valor, St. Michael-Albertville High School, St. Michael, Minnesota

8

SAMPLE USING PULL COLOR ON AN INDIVIDUAL SPREAD

This book uses a palette that includes distinct colors starting on the cover. The palette is used on key areas throughout the book to unify the look, but it also uses a popular trend called pull colors on the spreads. A pull color is a color introduced to a spread that matches the dominant photo on the spread. Pulling a color from the dominant photo helps bring cohesion to the elements on those particular pages. This ties the graphics and type on the page to the photos.

Color palette used on key sections of book

Pull color used to enhance dominant photos on spreads

“WE WERE ALWAYS HERE” Talisman , Saratoga High School, Saratoga, California

9

PALETTES Using a common palette throughout your yearbook offers cohesion to the whole book and reinforces the theme message and feel, while using a pull color brings cohesion to that particular page. Whether you choose to use your palette throughout your book or just on select areas, try to use a sample of your palette on at least these theme or key areas of your book – the cover, title page, endsheets, divider spreads, folios and index. Using your palette on these sections of your book will help unify your overall design. FIND INSPIRATION To gain insight on how a color palette can be applied to create a brand for your book, check out colors that well known companies and products have used to promote themselves. Visit brandcolors.net to see a list of color combinations that companies from around the world have selected to represent their brand. Consider the audience each business is trying to target and what feelings they are trying to evoke from that audience about their product. Companies use a particular color scheme to spread and reinforce their brand. Think about how a fast food restaurant uses the same colors in their signage and décor, including their napkins and cups! You have become trained to recognize their brand, often just by color. You can do the same with your book. Think of the cover as the signage, the décor as the division pages and the napkins/cups as elements such as folios. Layered throughout your book, all these items reinforce your book’s brand. If your book is opened to a random spread, there should be enough elements, including color, that give the viewer a clue that it is your book. Placing your colors in planned areas will help ensure your book is pulled together into one cohesive design.

Photo by Monica Garcia

10

To see what colors are trendy, start looking in stores, on popular products, clothing, magazines and advertisements. A great place to check out is the Pantone website. Every year Pantone, the world renowned authority on color and provider of color systems, recognizes a specific color of the year and a color palette. Pantone bases their suggestions on current fashion trends. Check out these colors at pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022. Not only do you want to select a color combination that is popular now, but consider what colors might be popular a few months from now, especially during the distribution of your book. Another great place to find inspiring color palettes is by looking at different historical periods and art movements. Impressionist painters used a palette of warm, light-filled colors, while the Post-Impressionists used dramatic, unexpected combinations. Artists of the Art Nouveau movement used a lot of tints of hues creating soft, earthy colors, which greatly contrast with the bright, saturated hues of Pop Art. You can also use an online color scheme generator such as the Adobe Color CC palette generator tool at color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel. It will allow you to experiment with various color combinations. Keep in mind, you are viewing these colors online and the colors will not match exactly to the screen when printed. Use the online generator ONLY for inspiration. If you find a combination you like, select close matches for your actual palette colors from the Walsworth Formula Colors. This will ensure your final printed colors are what you expected. The Walsworth Formula Color brochure can be found in the Planning Kit. Be sure to write down the Formula Color numbers for the 3-7 colors you have selected for your yearbook. Editors should place these in this year’s style guide and make all designers aware that they need to use this fixed palette throughout the book. Here are some sample color combinations to help you get started, but try coming up with your own schemes using the Walsworth Formula Colors.

Photo by Monica Garcia

11

FORMULA COLOR COMBINATIONS

CLEAN, LIGHT COMBINATIONS

BOLD, VIBRANT COMBINATIONS

COMBINATIONS C

FORMULA COLOR

12

NATURAL, VINTAGE COMBINATIONS

PLAYFUL COMBINATIONS

Remember: Keep it simple. If you start with a defined number of colors and plan to use these colors on the key sections of your book, you will not only help the page creation process advance more quickly, but you will ensure the overall unified design and look of your book.

FORMULA COLOR

COMBINATIONS

13

COLOR COMBINATION CHECKLIST Write down the numbers of the Formula Colors you selected here.

1. One bold/saturated color

This is your dominant color.

2. One contrast color

3. One or two dark colors

4. One or two light colors

5. One neutral color

Photo by Monica Garcia Jordan Andrews

14

FIND MORE WALSWORTH EBOOKS Walsworth is among the top four yearbook printers in the U.S., and the only family-owned publisher of yearbooks. As a leading provider of resources for yearbook advisers, Walsworth’s focus is making the yearbook creation process easier and more

successful for our schools. Learn more by visiting us at walsworthyearbooks.com.

Photo by Colton Fauquhuer

15