Episode 1

When I start on a project, I will often start by choosing a color palette.  Color is one of the most powerful design elements you can use, because colors can affect us without us even realizing it.  Colors are associated with moods; they can be symbolic; and different combinations can have different affects on our subconscious.

There is so much that I could say about color.  It's a topic that has been researched and studied in depth by sociologists, psychologists, and artists alike.  It could be the focus of an entire podcast itself.  However, for this episode, we'll try and stick to what drives the color decisions I make for graphic design projects.

When starting out, I will usually ask the client what color palette they envision for their project.  Sometimes someone will say, "Well my favorite color is red, can we try and use that?"  Now I always take the client's desires into consideration, but I also have to keep in mind that I'm not only designing for the client, I'm really designing for the client's target audience.  Which means that the colors used can't just be the client's favorite colors; the colors here have a job…they have to communicate the right message. In some cases, red may work.  In others, not so much.

So if we think about it this way, that colors have to communicate, then it becomes so easy in my mind to to envision colors as living entities. If a color could talk, what would it say?  I picture a little animated red amoeba blob hopping along, and it's got a personality of its own.  It may come across a blue amoeba blob, and the conversation may go a little something like this: