Working With Color; General Guidelines - Tektronix PHASER 380 User Manual

Printing: Beyond the Basics
4

Working with color

Phaser 380 Color Printer
4-2
Whether you are producing color reports, memos, graphs, charts, overhead
transparencies for presentations, color handouts, or design comps, there are
a few things to keep in mind when using color.
A large area of color looks more saturated (brighter) than a small
area of the same color.
A color looks brighter against a dark background than it does
against a white background.
Colors look different due to the background color or to the
surrounding colors.
The appearance of a color varies with the type and amount of
light, for example ßuorescent lighting versus sunlight.

General guidelines

Keep a document or design simple and consistent.
Select colors that look good together and that reinforce your
message.
Check your application for standard palettes to get you started.
Use a color scheme of Þve or six shades, and in a series of images,
use the colors in a consistent manner throughout the series.
Use color to highlight the most important information, such as a
bar or pie segment in a chart or graph.
Use color to show relationships between objects, such as a range of
values. Objects with a similar meaning or value should be in
similar colors.
Use color as graphic elements in the design of newsletters, logos,
and brochures.
Avoid red and green combinations; these colors are hard for
people with red/green color blindness to distinguish.