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Visual Presentations: Colour

This guide provides students with information and resources to create visual presentations.

Introduction to colour

Colour can: 1. organise a document, 2. aid navigation, 3. create impact, 4. evoke emotion.​

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY

Cultural colour associations

Colours have different meanings in different cultures. Individuals can also have a strong personal connections to colours. It's important to be aware of the range of interpretations and choose colours wisely. 

Universal, cultural, and personal symbols of color from Graphic Design Foundations: Color by Mary Jane Begin

Using colour

Tips on choosing colour:

  • Start with one colour to build a colour palette.
  • Is there a colour connected to a logo, brand or image used?
  • Are you trying to convey a particular emotion or association? 

Colours react and are defined slightly differently in different mediums. You should use these colour codes for the following mediums:

RGB - for screens & devices
HEX - for websites & coding
CMYK - for print

Using the correct code is the best way to ensure your colour appears the way you want it to. 

Found a colour but can't match it? 
Use a tool like ColorPick Eyedropper. It allows you to select colours from webpages/images and instantly find the colour code. O

Build a colour palette:

Image shows a variety of different ways to create a colour palette, including: complementary colours, analogous colours, split complementary colours, triadic colours, tetradic colours and monochromatic colours.

Resources

Finding colour codes: Building palettes: Build palette based on an image:
http://www.rgbtohex.net/
http://www.color-hex.com/		 https://color.adobe.com
https://www.colorhexa.com		 https://coolors.co/
http://www.colorhunter.com/​

Colour & usability


Colourbindness affects over 8% of the population in Australia.

Vision Eye Institute. (2017). Colour blindness.Retrieved https://visioneyeinstitute.com.au/eyematters/colour-blindness/#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20that%20a,colour%20blindness%20to%20some%20degree.

Choose colours wisely! Red and green is not a good combination for readability for anyone. For colourblind people, the combination is even worse:

Two examples of what green text on a red background looks like for people who are colourblind. First example is a protanope simulation, the second example is a deuteranope simulation.

 

You can check the usability of your images and websites by using the below simulators:

 

Websites: https://www.toptal.com/designers/colorfilter
Images: http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckImage.php

 

Other usability tips:

  • Use colour consistently to create visual hierarchy.
  • Dark text on a light, neutral background is best for readability. 
  • If it’s for something that will be printed, think about how it will translate to B&W print.
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