WEBVTT

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How do I choose the right colors?

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I am a firm believer that

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there are no such things as right colors.

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There is always more than one way
to apply color successfully.

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But I do believe in asking a series

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of questions before choosing a palette.

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Number one.

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Most importantly,
do you need to incorporate existing colors

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or are you starting from scratch?

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Look at what's already there.

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Are you working with a company

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company that already has a turquoise
logo like Waze, for example?

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That doesn't mean that a brochure
you design has to match the turquoise,

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but it helps
if your palette relates to the logo.

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If they're going to sit on the same page,

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you also should consider the
context of the overall style

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of what's already in place.

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Is the emphasis, for example, on darker,
more conservative colors

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or bright and festive ones?

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Number two, what colors does

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your client love?

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What colors do you

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or the person or the company
you're working with gravitate to?

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Does your client at fresh direct
love the color green,

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but you're presenting them with oranges
and reds.

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You're going to get a happier client,

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personally, if they like the colors.

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If they personally, personally, like them.

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If not, it might not be so good.

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Getting a feel for their personal palette
can be the key to success,

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and it can be as easy as putting
a paint deck in front of someone

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and asking them to point to colors
that they find appealing.

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Number three,

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what is the overall effect
you're trying to create?

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Do you want a color scheme
that shouts, “Here I am”?

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or do you want something that
whispers softly?

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It's not just the hue that you choose
that evokes a particular feeling,

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but it's the chroma, meaning the intensity

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and the value
how light or dark a color is as well.

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Intense colors

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emphasize objects that they cover
and their flashy, dark, warm colors

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have a way of drawing things together
and are intimate.

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Light cool
colors have a way of opening things up

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and making them more expansive, especially

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if they're in a similar hue and value.

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In the case of the Washington
Post app, the deep

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blue connotes a seriousness and authority
that matches with their mission.

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Number four,

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the effect of color on scale.

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Are you trying to make a room
look smaller,

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bigger, taller or shorter?

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I use color to adjust any deficiencies

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in the scale of a particular space.

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If I'm painting a room with an
uncomfortably low ceiling, a lighter color

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on the ceiling than on the walls
will make the room appear taller.

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As you can see on the slide

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on the left,

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if I'm painting a room
with uncomfortably high ceilings, a darker

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color on the ceiling than on the walls
will make that room appear lower.

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As you can see in the slide on the
in the middle,

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if you want to make a room feel less
long and narrow.

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I would put an accent color on the end
wall as in the slide on the right.

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The following slides

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illustrate how changing the paint colors

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can drastically change the scale
and the feeling of a room.

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We are flipping through these now,
just so you can get a quick sense

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of how this works

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and last on exterior facades.

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You can also see how color is used
to emphasize either architectural details

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like windows and trim
or on the building form itself.

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In the left slide.

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The first and second

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houses are done in varying
forms of a monochromatic scheme

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that is sort of maroon and dark blue,

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whereas the houses further down

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with the green and tan and the red
and tan emphasize architectural details.

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In the slide on the right,
the details like window

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trim and doors are emphasized in the gray
and yellow houses,

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while
the architectural form of the building is

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emphasized in the charcoal gray house
further down to the right.

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Number five.

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Are you looking for colors
that are contrasting or harmonious?

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Once you have chosen your dominant hue,

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then you need to decide
which color scheme you prefer.

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Monochromatic schemes
where you're using shades

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of the same color
to give the greatest sense of harmony.

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Complimentary schemes that use
highly contro casting colors that hit

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opposite each other on the color wheel
can be anywhere from exciting to jarring.

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And then there's everything
in between the two ends of the bell curve.

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In this last slide,

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there is what it's called
an analogous color scheme

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where you can see the similar greens
and in the green on the left it's

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used with a color yellow, which is next
to green on one side of the color wheel.

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And in the right side it's

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green with a blue, which is next to it,
on the other side in the color wheel.

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Number six

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why a neutral in every palette.

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First,
let me give you a definition of neutrals.

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Neutrals are created by mixing a hue

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and its complement together
in varying proportions.

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This muddies or grays down
the original hue, neutrals help

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to bring other color choices together
by creating a place for the eye to rest.

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And they work as excellent backgrounds
for more

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intense accents.

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In this slide on the left,
you can see that the neutral is used

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as the background color, and on the right,

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the neutral is used as an accent

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in the next slide.

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You can see how the pale, gray, neutral
acts as a background for intense accents.