Last week I focused on typography and it’s impact on design as an element. This week I want to focus on color. Most college-educated designers took a color class of some kind. So we all know the importance of color. I struggled with color in some of my classes and projects.
Now I look outside of the box for solutions to my color conundrums. The web has so much to offer in the way of color and inspiration. I still prefer my small library of books for a break from the computer though. (In fact I think computer glare is hurting my eyes more and more these days and I’m at least 2 feet from my computer screen.) I guess this means I’ll recommend a few good books to help with color and design and then move onto a few websites.
Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design
by Adams Morioka
ISBN: 1-59253-433-3
Color Index 2: Over 1500 New Color Combinations. For Print and Web Media. CMYK and RGB Formulas
by Jim Krause
ISBN: 1.5818.038.7
Color Index: Over 1100 Color Combinations, CMYK and RGB Formulas, for Print and Web Media
by Jim Krause
ISBN: 1.58180.236.6
Color – Messages & Meanings: A PANTONE Color Resource
by Leatrice Eiseman
ISBN: 0.971.4010.6.3
Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color
by Leatrice Eisemann
ISBN: 0.966.6383.2.5
Flickr – search great photos and you will find inspiration for colors. I will show you on Friday how to take these images that you find colortastic and create your only color schemes and swatches.
Behr – there are a lot of great features on this sight for learning about color and using color and most importantly you can use the ColorSmart feature to select colors and find palates based on that color.
Tune in later in the week for more sites that cater to color schemes and swatches.
