You’re working on an important slide presentation.
You’ve followed all the steps on your PowerPoint template: you’ve organized your information, created
headlines, and positioned your charts and graphs. All the elements seem to be in order, but the slides
are lackluster. You wonder what your audience will think . . .
You figure out what you need . . . COLOR . . . lots of bold,
bright color — color to make your information stand up and be noticed, color to shout out your message,
color to hit your audience over the head. You add red, green, blocks of blue, and orange. By the time
you’re done, your slide presentation looks like a circus. Instead of livening up your slides and emphasizing
your message, you’ve wound up with a muddled mess.
What Went Wrong?
Most people (or at least those of us without a graphic
design background) don’t know the colors they choose are not as important as the relationships the colors
create. Some colors work well together, others fight against each other. The key to using color effectively
is ESTABLISHING A SOUND RELATIONSHIP.
Color is never viewed in isolation. Rather, it is always
judged in its environment. Color is influenced by neighboring colors. For example, place a bright yellow
ball in a child’s nursery and it fits right in. Place the same ball in a boardroom, and it sticks out
like . . . well, a bright yellow ball in a boardroom.
How Do You Know What Colors Work Together?
How do you select colors that will get your message
across with the appropriate tone and style? How do you establish colors in a successful relationship?
One solution is as simple as looking out the window . . . When you think of creating a color palette
for your next presentation, consider nature’s color palette: the crisp blue-greens of the ocean,
the deep green fir trees, and the cornflower blue sky. These colors work in harmony with each other.
They create a sense of balance and order — they work together to evoke a feeling and create a mood.
You Need A Plan
Selecting color should never be arbitrary or merely
subjective. "I like it" is not sufficient criteria for creating a palette. You need a plan.
The first thing to determine is the "feel" you want
for your presentation. Color has thermal qualities of either warm or cool. Colors that range in the
reds and oranges are warm; those in the blues and greens are cool. Begin by selecting either a warm
or cool hue. Then, choose only one or two vivid hues. If you want to expand your palette, use a broader
range of colors. Do this through the use of tints and shades.
A tint is a hue mixed with white. Pink is a tint of red.
A shade is a hue mixed with black. Brown is a shade of orange.
By experimenting with tints and shades, you can create palettes that range
from direct and playful to serious and somber. Consider the following two examples.
Below is a sample web page using the green palette.
Consider the tone and mood of the page: serene and professional.
Palette 1: Green
Below is a sample web page using the orange palette.
Consider the tone and mood of the page: vibrant and unique.
Palette 2: Orange
Final Thoughts
The best rule to follow when selecting color is . . . keep it
simple — more is not always better. It is the color relationships that make or break visual effects. Try
to choose only one or two vivid hues and use their tints and shades to broaden your palette. Following
these guidelines will help keep presentation slides clear, elegant, and to the point!
Presenters Online would like to thank Margo Halverson for
her article contribution. Margo is an award-winning professional designer and an
Associate Professor at the Maine College of Art. For information about Margo, please
visit Proximity Learning at www.designsense-cd.com.
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