PROFESSIONAL

CERTIFICATE IN GRAPHIC
DESIGN
SIMBAI ZINDOVE
[email protected]
 Students will learn;

1. Color theory in depth.

2. More Adobe Illustrator tools {}

3. Creating and saving color palettes.

Lesson Learning 4. The eyedropper tool.

Outcomes 5.

6.
Creating gradients.

Importing images and using them to create color palettes.

7. Quality image sources.

8. Saving files, and exporting files for use in other designs and apps.

PCGD OCTOBER 2024

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 Color Theory
• What is color or hue?
• Conveys meaning and helps you create a cohesive look and feel for a design.
• Consider how the colors will look together.
• In graphic design colors are organized on a color wheel.
• The traditional color wheel was designed in 1666 by Sir Isaac Newton.
• The color wheel is a tool that helps designers to understand how colors work together.
• It is essential for understanding color theory concepts.

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 The Color Wheel
• It consists of three (3) base / primary colors : Red, Yellow, and Blue.
• Mixing these 3 base colors gets us the other three secondary colors : Purple, Orange, and
Green.
• Mixing the primary and secondary colors gives us three tertiary colors on the wheel:
Bluegreen, Blue-violet, Yellow-green.
• The color wheel can be split into two main temperature groups, warm colors and cool colors.
• Warm colors are associated with the sun, energy, warmth, action, etc.
• Cool colors are associated with calm, peace, etc.

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 The Color Wheel
• Primary colors • Secondary colors • Tertiary colors

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The Color Wheel

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Color Spaces / Profiles / Modes
• There are two main color spaces namely RGB and CMYK.

RGB CMYK
Red, Green, Blue Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Uses the additive color method (starts Uses the subtractive color method (starts
with black) with white)
Adding all the colors gives us white color Subtracting colors until we are left with
black
Used for screen display design Used for print design

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Color Qualities

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 Color Qualities
• Hue – any color on the color wheel. Hue is another word for color.
• Saturation – the intensity or purity of the color.
• A color can be more saturated / vibrant or de-saturated.
• Value – How light or dark a color is
• Value is split into three categories:
• Shade - created by adding black to a hue, darkening a color to make it look richer.
• Tint – adding white to a hue to make it less intense.
• Tone – adding black and white (gray) to a hue.

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Color Qualities

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Color Harmonies

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 Color Harmonies
• Color harmonies are colors that look aesthetically pleasing together. (visually pleasing color
combinations)
• Designers create their own color palettes.
• There are common color schemes / harmonies to help designers familiarize themselves with
color combinations.
• Use color schemes / harmonies to create perfect color combinations.
Complementary color harmony:
• This technique pairs two colors that are directly opposite on the color wheel.
• This helps create a strong contrast.
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 Complementary Color Harmony
• This technique pairs two colors that are directly opposite on the color wheel.
• This helps create a strong contrast.

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 Split-Complementary Color Harmony
• This technique uses one base/ primary color and two secondary colors on the wheel.

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 Analogous Color Harmony
• This technique works by combining a main color with colors that are next to it.
• This one does not create much contrast.

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 Monochromatic Color Harmony
• Created by taking one basic color from the color wheel and using its different shades, tints, and
tones to create a color palette.
• It looks simple and clean

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 Triadic Color Harmony
• This technique uses three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel forming a triangle.

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 Tetradic Color Harmony
• With this technique, two sets of complementary colors are used to form a palette.

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Color Psychology

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 Color Psychology
• Color psychology is a very powerful tool used in graphic design.
• Colors have the ability to invoke certain emotions and create impressions.
• Each color triggers a different feeling.
• When choosing colors for a project, designers must consider the target audience, the product or
service offered, and the overall message being communicated.
• It’s also important to consider how the colors will interact with each other.
• Colors have positive and sometimes negative triggers.

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Basic colors and the feelings they can elicit
• Red – Power, passion, excitement, boldness, strong-willed etc.
• Blue – strength, trust, security, serenity, loyalty, peace, integrity, reserved
• Green – growth, healthy, balance, prosperity, optimism, fresh, renewal.
• Yellow – warm, uplifting, originality, practicality, cheerful
• Orange – confident, playful, friendly, happiness, enthusiasm.
• Black / grey – balanced, informed, neutral, bold, strong, mysterious

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Color Practice – The Eyedropper Tool
• Importing images into AI.
• Picking colors from images.
• Creating color palettes.
• Creating gradients.

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 Quality Image Sources
• pexels.com
• pixabay.com

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Thank you
Simbai Zindove

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