Colors communicate beyond a surface level. Colors and particular color combinations can convey all sorts of different messages and meanings to people depending on ethnic backgrounds and cultures. In this article, I hope to provide you with some helpful advice on how to go about the color selection process (and hopefully take some of the mystery out of choosing appropriate color schemes).

To choose the right colors, start by asking yourself some key questions:

1. Who are your learners?

This interface example shows how color can dramatically change the mood of a design. One interface features a vibrant, youthful color pallet using complementary colors while the other uses a colder, monochromatic corporate color palette.

It's helpful to ask the following questions to yourself about your target audience:

• What industry are your learners involved in?
• What kinds of graphics and colors are associated with that industry?
• What is the age group and culture of your learners?
• What other demographic information do you know about them? For example, a new electronic media course for youth ages 16-18 should have colors that are vibrant and active rather than corporate or subtle.

2. What feeling or message do you need to project?

This is an example of a word mapping exercise that I did to brainstorm ideas around the word "youthful". The trick to this process is to generate as many ideas as you can without editing yourself. This took me about five minutes to create (don't over think).

Does your course and the content need to convey "youthful and vivacious" or is "serious and determined" more appropriate? How about "assertiveness," "complexity," or "invigoration"? Each of these key words is associated with particular colors and combinations. I find it helpful to do a word mapping exercise to come up with objects, scenes, and locations that are associated with a particular keyword and then think of the colors associated with each.

3. Are you required to incorporate elements from your company's brand into the design?

These screen shots shows Pantone, RGB and CMYK color swatches from a logo usage guide.

 

The ideal situation for many designers is to start from scratch and develop the most relevant color palette for the audience and the topic. Sometimes this is out of a designer's control if leadership requests that the training materials use the colors from the corporate brand. I find it helpful to ask about logos or company brand elements that need to be blended into the design before beginning a project. If you know this information up front, you can create a color palette that complements these colors while still appealing to your learners. Note: Sometimes companies have a logo usage guide that lists corporate colors.

4. Will the course you are developing part of a series?

In order to save time and money in the long run, it's a good idea to consider how you can get the most mileage out of your template designs by using color to distinguish courses within a series. If you know from the start that your course will be part of a series, you can create a smart color scheme that is easily adjusted and applied. The most common color schemes include monochromatic, analogous, complementary, double complementary, split complementary, and triads.
Turn one design into three. Some careful planning can make it easy to freshen up the course design with a new key and accent colors. This is a great technique for developing multiple courses within the same series.

Although it is a challenge for many instructional designers, color choice is one of the most essential aspects of any course design project. Asking yourself the above questions will put you on the path to making appropriate and energizing choices for your future projects, and soon these questions will become a natural part of how you approach this task.

Helpful Color Resources

1. Resources to help you determine the most appropriate colors for the feeling you want to express:

• Color - Messages & Meanings: A PANTONE Color Resource by Leatrice Eiseman (book)
  Eiseman does a fantastic job of showing real world applications of color palettes and the messages and meanings they convey. As a designer, this is by far my favorite color resource. One drawback for e-learning designers is that the color palettes are listed in Pantone colors rather than RGB or HEX values -- but don't fear! Use free conversion tools like this to translate any Pantone color.
• The Non-Designer's Design Book (3rd Edition) by Robin Williams (book)
  This is an excellent book for non-designers and designers alike. Williams provides practical tips on the use of color and all aspects of design in a very friendly, easy to understand way. However, if you're looking for specific palettes, the previous resource is a better option.

2. Online resources to help you choose color palettes based on a single color that you would like to build upon:

• Color Scheme Designer
  This is a very easy-to-use color palette generating tool that can help you choose accent colors based on your primary color choice. A bonus for course designers includes a sneak peek of the color scheme applied to a simple Web page (click on the "Light page example" or "Dark page example").
• Adobe Kuler
  Another great color palette generating tool based on a single color, this site builds a community around color where users can save and share color palettes. It's a great source of inspiration as well as a tool for creating your own color schemes.

Article by Samantha Meemken of LearningChange. Edited by Heather Fosse.