Get a crash course in color theory

I have a secret. I’m a designer, and I suck at color.

Maybe it’s because color theory wasn’t part of my graphic design curriculum in college…

Thankfully, it’s never too late to learn. If you’re color-challenged like me, here’s two sources that can help:

Mark Boulton’s Five Simple Steps to Designing with Color

This is Mark’s latest addition to his online Five Simple Steps series on design.

The first part recommends starting color projects in grayscale. Once you get the right balance of tones, you then apply colors.

Next, Mark explains those weird color terms such as triads, subtractive primaries, and complimentary colors. As usual, Mark’s writing is clear, concise, and never too technical. Of course, the plentiful illustrations help.

Part 1: Designing without color
Part 2: Color basics

Josef Albers’s Interaction of Color

This slim book is based on Josef Albers’ famous color theory class taught at Yale University. Many consider this the only color theory book you should own.

Rather than presenting color wheels and loads of technical terms, Josef Albers focuses on how your eye perceives color.

Most intriguing is his demonstration of color relativity—how a color, and your perception of it, changes when next to other colors. As an example, the cover of the book shows how the same brown can look drastically different depending on what’s around it.

Sadly, Josef Albers is no longer alive. Fortunately, his legacy lives on in his book and through his students who are teaching his course at various schools across the country.

Interaction of Color

What other online and offline sources on color do you use? Please share!