Color for Designers

Book excerpt: Most of today’s books on color lean in one of two directions: toward heavy-handed theory-speak or toward ready-to-use palettes that will likely be out-of-step before the book has received its first coffee stain. Color For Designers leans in neither direction, instead choosing to simply tell it like it is while bringing home the timeless thinking behind effective color selection and palette building. In this fundamental guide to understanding and working with color, bestselling author Jim Krause starts out by explaining the basics with an introduction to the color wheel, hue, saturation, value, and more. He then dives deeper into the practical application of color with instruction on how to alter hues, create palettes, target themes, paint with color, use digital color, and accurately output your colorful creations to print. The book is set up in easy-to-digest spreads that are straight-to-the-point, fun to read, and delightfully visual. Color For Designers–releasing on the heels of its companion volume, Visual Design–is the second book in the New Riders Creative Core series, which aims to provide instruction on the fundamental concepts and techniques that all designers must master to become skilled professionals.