Color Me Good: My Guide to Color in a Neutral World

I love color. It makes me happy and it can also make you happy. Whether it is at home or work, I surround myself with color. Most people I come across are either afraid of color or play it safe. Color is such a matter of taste that homeowners trying to sell a home are often told to keep their wall colors neutral to attract the most people. And although that may be true when trying to sell a home, in design what matters is how you can use color to communicate a message to your target audience. Today, I'm sharing my personal tips on how I use color for a client and for life. 

Research, research, research
I can't say it enough, every design for me starts with a little bit of research. My research can include talking to the client or visiting websites to get an idea of the target audience. Get to know your audience, older people won't be able to see dark on light. The youngsters are drawn to primary and saturated colors. Invite people to view your work. I do this especially if I think they're my target audience.  It's best to ask more than one person, that way you can receive more than one opinion since color is so subjective. Here's a useful infographic which tells you about the psychology behind color to help you make informed decisions.

When in doubt use neutrals
I don't advocate the total use of neutrals. I don't only think is boring but I also think is just a "cop-out." I know there are times when you're just in a rut and in a rush and in those times, I recommend using a combination of neutrals with a non-neutral.

Build a color library
We know there are certain color combinations which are safe like using complementary colors like green and red or analogous colors. But there's another way to find color combinations that work, you can visit  www.brandigirlblog.com for some inspiration or get your color combinations directly from your environment. When you see a color combination that works, take a picture and save your colors in a library of your own. Use photoshop to your advantage; if there's a color you must use, combine it with others by laying it over others using filters. Using these tips will save you time when you have a rush project.

Live the colors
Don't be afraid. I personally do this. I live the colors. I am constantly trying color combinations with what I wear and at home. This is safer than using it on a project and finding out that it just doesn't work for your client. (Though this can happen no matter what you do, like I said it's so subjective)

So the last thing I have to say is to forget everything I said, forget about color psychology, color theory...forget everything and follow your intuition. The less constraints the more creative you can be.