While perusing the list of sites I follow and blogs I watch this morning. I stumbled across a gem on the Advertising Age Web site. After a summer consumer marketing campaign, during which, PEPSI got their followers involved in their marketing strategy by allowing consumers to submit designs for a new PEPSI can, which appeared very successful as cans began hitting the shelves at grocery stores, PEPSI has re-vamped their logo.

What does it cost for a national brand such as PEPSI or CocaCola to update their brand? Though the company won’t confirm the cost, experts at Advertising Age estimate the logo development itself cost somewhere above $1 Million. Why so much? The firm contracted to do the re-design: Omnicom’s Arnell Group, spent a solid 5 months to develop the new look. 5 months? On a logo?

It seems like a lot, but when compared to the multi-millions that will be required to change all the collateral materials that are part of the PEPSI marketing syndicate, the logo is too important to be any less that perfect.

How a brand changes. From the early beginnings in 1898 (the year my great-great grandpa was born) the logo has changed significantly 6 times. These changes, some more drastic than others, each show a progression and a step forward towards growing design trends and new persuasions in the marketplace.

I think it’s incredibly interesting that the 1951 version of the logo remarkably looks similiar to the Coca-Cola font that we are all very familiar with. Finally in 1962, Pepsi found it’s own identity. While the use of the design has changed the one thing we can see consistently throughout those logos is the color palette and typography style. This style is updated and refreshed in the new logo, however the simplicity of the font reminds us just who the company is. I love where the new logo is heading and can’t wait to see the changes that will occur with the collateral pieces from the company.

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Unless you have been formally educated in color chances are you may not fully understand the difference between Tints, Tones and Shades.

I’ll never forget learning this principle during one of my first art classes way back in high school.  The teacher handed us 3 bottles of paint. 1 Red. 1 Black. and 1 White. She further instructed us that we would be creating a monochromatic painting.
 

I was concerned. The teacher had been known to be eccentric, but how could I possibly create a wrok of art with just these 3 colors?

It was that assignment that taught me the value of tints, tones and shades.If this terminology seems foreign to you keep reading.

Tints. A “tint” of a color is made by mixing the color with white.  Thinking back to our example, if we mix Red with a little while the resulting color, pink, is a “tint of red.”

Shade.  Shades are easy to remember because of the darker elements involved.  A shade is created by mixing black with a color.  Black mixed into red results in “burgundy” which is a “shade of red”.

Tones.  Perhaps the tone is the hardest mixing element to remember.  A tone is created by add “gray” to a color.  When mixed with red, the resulting color will fall somewhere between pink and burgundy depending on the shade of the gray.

With these mixtures you can create a monochromatic piece of art. Let’s define “monochromatic”. Monochromatic refers to a piece of art this created usually only one base color.

How do these principles apply to computer-based graphics? I’m glad you asked. No doubt you’ve stumbled across the setting in Photoshop to change your photo or work to “monotone”.

This setting is creating your “tints, tones and shades” for you, but knowing the foundational keys in front of you.

The dividing line between successful designers and amateurs that use Photoshop is knowing the “principles” behind what the software is doing.

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I had a request this week to add some posts that are a little more basic for beginning designers. These articles will be housed in the Beginner’s Corner category. I’ll also be adding the ‘Beginner’s Corner" tag to them.

The first request was for a series on color basics.

Color Schemes for Beginners

Broadly defined, a color scheme is a group of colors you put together. Where it gets a little more complicated is knowing if you have a good one or not.

If you’re just starting out in design all the color options may be a little scary. How do you decide what colors to use? What makes a "good" color scheme?

Start with 1. That’s right. Read it again. Decide on 1 color to be the basis of your design. Seen a photo somewhere with a color that jumped out at you? Well, now you can put it to good use!

Once you have your base color, you have yet again several options as you decide how to build your scheme around it. Once you know the rules, you’ll no longer have to "think" through the process as much. It will begin to come naturally.

Before we can dive into color schemes you must first have a  clear understanding of the color wheel and what it represents:

A basic color wheel begins with the 3 primary colors (you probably learned these in elementary school). Red. Yellow. Blue.

Next, we add the "secondary" colors. These colors are the bold colors created when combing 2 of the primaries. Orange. Green. Violet (Purple).
 

As you can see from the wheel, combining Red + Yellow = Orange, Yellow + Blue=Green and Blue + Red=Violet.

Now, let’s take it a step further by adding the "tiertiaries" (or 3rd tier). Red-Orange. Yellow-Orange. Yellow-Green. Blue-Green. Blue-Violet. Red-Violet.
 

Now we have the basic color wheel:

What good is it? The color wheel is the basic foundation for creating  3 foundational harmonious color schemes.

Complimentary:  Complimentary colors are simply those that are found on opposite sides of the color wheel.

Examples:

Purple + Yellow (My High School Colors!)
              

Green + Red (Christmas Anyone?)

Blue + Orange
           

Split Complimentary: Split Complimentary schemes are 3 colors. The main selection grouped with the 2 colors that are found on either side of the complimentary.
 

Examples:

Purple + Yellow-Green and Yellow-Orange
               

Red + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green
               

Blue + Yellow-Orange and Red-Orange

Analogous: Analogous colors refer to the 3 colors that appear side-by-side in any portion of the color wheel.

Example:

Red + Red-Violet and Red-Orange
             

Orange + Red-Orange and Red
             

Green + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green

 
As I continue with this series, we’ll explore some other easy color schemes and terms.  I’ll be posting a new "Beginner’s Post" once a week. Please let me know if there is a topic you’d like to learn more about!
 

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Black. Without black there would be no need for any other color. Black is the backbone of all colors. What does that mean? Well, would anyone appreciate the vibrancy of red, the energy of yellow and the intensity of green, if it weren’t compared to the dark abyss of black? What’s more, any color combined with black suddently creates a piece that pops.

Black is a symbol of class, take black limousines, and black ties and tuxedos. Some gravitate so much to black that they make a whole brand on it, such as Johnny Cash, the "man in black". In clothing, black is slimming and flattering.

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More than eggplant. Purple is the color of royalty. Originally, purple was a rare dye that couldn’t be created easily. Thus the use on royal garments. Today this color symbolism is still in tact. Think about it. How often do you really see purple used for design? Give up? It’s actually the least commonly used color out there.

Found in nature in flowers and sunsets, purple is vibrant and vivacious. It will add a new life to any design. Use it carefully though, the most powerful colors must be used with caution. Mix it with yellow and you’ve got a dynamite duo that will bring you design success!

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Judging strictly from what I’ve seen, I’d venture to guess that blue was the most popular color out there. Working in ministry circles as I do, it seems that a majority of ministers want to go with blues to play it safe. And blue does just that. When in doubt, use blue. It’s easy on the eyes and appeals to both men and women.

Few colors are accompanied by as many adjectives as blue: Sky blue, turqouise blue, cobalt blue, bright blue, navy blue, bright blue, the list could go on forever. The bottom line is choosing "blue" still leaves you with tons of decisions. Whether we’re looking for the sea blue of the ocean, the sky blue behind the clouds or the bright blue eyes of a baby, blue is a color that is known to psychologically symbolize openness, intelligence and faith.  It also is known to reduce appeitite. Think about it, the only naturally blue food is blueberries. Any wonder that blue colors don’t make you hungry? When was the last time you went into a successful restaurant that was mostly blue?

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Grass. Leaves. Weeds. Nature. It’s all aournd us. I’ve heard it was the new "black". It’s also the newest fad. Everyone’s going "green." While the definition of that statement should not have anything to do with the color, firms, companies and small businesses are making subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in their advertising.

Colors are quickly being replaced with shades of green. From the rich and elegant green of the branding for Rolex to the limes of communications companies such as Windstream, green can feel rich or conservative. Loved by environmentalists and revered by those who want to make political statements, the color has recently taken on a very volatile tone.

Green is also heavily associated with Christmas, which lends a positive connotation to the color. The versatility of the color amazes me. A light shade can be mixed with a little black and a little gray for an eyepopping combination. Take a dark shade and add some golds to add class to any design.

Complimentary: Red

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Nothing says happy like yellow. The color of sunshine, daisies, and even my first car! That brings up an interesting point in itself. When I turned 15, I of course was ready to start looking for wheels. Volkswagen had just released their new beetles. I wanted a yellow, but had to sell that choice to my parents. After some research, I found that Yellow cars were statistically proven to be safer and involved in less accidents than any other vehicle color. The reason? Yellow is hard to miss.

It’s also hard not to smile, when face to face with a yellow smiley face. Yellow brightens a room. It gets your energy pumping. Yellow turns lemons into lemonade and keeps the sun rising.

Complimentary: Purple

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More than a color to a TN Volunteer fan like myself, it’s important that I have an extra special post on the color! As a toddling TN fan, the color orange was pretty much instilled into me as the best color ever created!

Okay, okay. I’ll get back on topic. Though it is true that Orange remains my favorite color. Though a derivative of red, it’s not usually associated with anger and hostility, but rather promotes creativity, sunshine and health.

Orange is notably used in marketing campaigns for companies such as Cingular, and I chose to use the color for my design firm www.paige1media.com. Fun and vibrant, orange is also found in nature in tiger lillies and several citrus fruits.

Found in fall alongside the burgandy red, burnt orange is found in turning leaves, ripening  pumpkins and sunsets.

Complimentary color: Blue

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I picked up an interesting book that belonged to a colleague this week and it opened to a section on color. As a designer, color is obviously a subject that is constantly in the back of my mind, but I realized that it had been a while since I had really refreshed myself on the ends and outs of that aspect of the industry.

It’s imperative that as designers we stay immersed in information on such topics so that we don’t get stuck in a rut. Using the same colors and combinations over and over because they are comfortable or familiar. If I want my ideas to be fresh, I must keep coming up with fresh combinations and new ways to present them.

So, what colors are popular today anyway? Well, by merely walking down any aisle at Wal-Mart, Target or other superstore, you can see a vast array of colors. Interestingly enough, predominantly on the shelves you’ll see browns, lime greens, turquoise, pinks and creams. Why? Things have a way of repeating and currently "Old’ is "In". They call it retro. But it’s merely a color palette that was popular in the 70s.

It’s definitely a fun scheme to work with. I recently finished a T-shirt design for a client that targets youth using a similar color scheme. They loved it.

A little later we’ll look at the messages behind the color and what they tell your readers, customers or clients about your product.

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