Color Printing

Adding color to your brochure, flyer, booklet, or business cards will increase the attention your marketing piece can get. Used correctly, colors capture attention, evoke emotions, and highlight important information. Below are some rules for color printing with a few tips on color meanings thrown in between.

Rule 1: Do not mix red and blue colors together.  Both blue letters on a red background or red letters on a blue background or make the reader’s eye tire easily, and they more than likely will not finish skimming your advertisement.

Tip: The color red suggests emotions of aggression and strength, while the color blue means peace, comfort, and loyalty.

Rule 2: Use contrast to make the important information stand out.  For instance, if your background is white with black letters, use a black box with white letters for the call to action.  Avoid too much contrast, though, as this can make reading difficult.

Tip: Black can be an either dramatic, sophisticated, or mournful.  White signifies purity, cleanliness, and simplicity.

Rule 3: Many designers like to use colors that are of the same shade.  For instance, if you want to use a warm color such as an orange, try incorporating other colors from the same family, such as red, brown, or yellow.

Tip: Orange evicts emotions of warmth and excitement, yellow promotes brightness and happiness, and brown is natural and neutral.

Rule 4: Complementary colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel.  When using a four color scheme, begin by selecting two complementary colors.  For selecting the next two colors, use another set of complementary colors.  A three color scheme often uses colors that are chosen by creating a triangle on the color wheel.

Tip: Green represents money and nature.  The color purple portrays royalty and spirituality.  Gray can be a cold color but is also distinctive and businesslike.

For a free color wheel, go to the advanced color options in your design program. There are also free color wheels available on many design websites.