Using+colour+on+a+page

=Guidelines for working with color = To use color effectively, follow these 12 simple rules.
 * 1) **Practice consistency** When incorporating color into your publications, use color judiciously and consistently. A few, well-chosen colors can have more impact than a rainbow of colors with little or no relationship to one another. For example, the more colors that you use, the less likely that your audience will identify your signature or brand with any one color.
 * 2) **Exercise restraint** A single word or key phrase set in color in a headline attracts more attention than when an entire headline is set in color. Similarly, when a color is applied to a single slice of a pie chart, for example, that slice stands apart from the rest of the chart that is not treated with color. By coloring only one element, you can more effectively convey the importance of specific information.
 * 3) **Use a single color palette or single color scheme** Limiting your color choices to the same five colors in every issue of your newsletter creates a consistent image, especially if your letterhead and business cards use the same five colors. The color schemes in Publisher can be set so that the schemes can be shared between publications, which ensures that your publications will be based on the same core color selections.
 * 4) **Consider two-color and three-color printing** When printing on high-quality offset printers — as opposed to digital print-on-demand duplication — consider the advantages of two-color and three-color printing. Without sacrificing visual impact, you can realize significant cost savings over the cost of traditional four-color, or CYMK, process printing.
 * 5) **Concentrate color, but don't dissipate it** Color works best when concentrated in a few focused areas, rather than scattered all over a page. Small areas of color spread over a page, such as in vertical rules or lines between columns, symbols placed at the ends of stories, or hanging caps, often add clutter to the page, rather than focusing attention or reinforcing branding. A smarter alternative is to limit color to areas where it can be used purposefully and effectively.
 * 6) **Incorporate colored text with care** Paradoxically, text set in color is often less effective — harder to notice and to read — than black text set against a white background. Be especially careful when using a colored serif font for body copy text. A better alternative is to limit colored text to bold, sans serif fonts such as 14-point or larger Arial Bold or Arial Black.
 * 7) **Strive for maximum contrast between the foreground and background** Black text against a white background is more readable than dark gray text against a light gray background or dark blue text against a light blue background. When using color to project an image, make sure that you are not inadvertently undermining the readability of your message.
 * 8) **Pay attention to color brightness levels** In printed material, text in darker colors is generally more legible than text in lighter colors. Text in yellow, light blue, or green that's on a white background, however, often looks better on screen than it does when it's printed.
 * 9) **Avoid reproducing black-and-white photographs in color** Images of food or people that are printed in blue or green are rarely satisfying. Notice that there is a difference between black-and-white photographs reproduced in blue or green, compared with the same photographs reproduced as a duotone. A duotone is a black-and-white photograph reproduced in shades of black plus shades of a second color. Duotones can be quite effective.
 * 10) **Consider readers who print publications on desktop printers** Use color sparingly if there is a possibility that your readers are going to print your brochure or newsletter on their desktop printers. Avoid large colored backgrounds and areas of heavy ink saturation, because these will waste a lot of your readers' toner and ink. Areas of nonfunctional, colored backgrounds that are repeated on each page are especially wasteful.
 * 11) **Use background bleeds when appropriate** If your project is going to be printed on an offset printer, consider adding background bleeds to pages that contain key visuals, such as charts and graphs. Bleeds are areas of color that extends slightly beyond the page edge (or trim). In publications that have a background bleed, the ink, instead of the paper color, becomes the "background color." You can then create "windows" to highlight text or graphics within the printed background color.
 * 12) **Monitor cultural connotations** When formatting publications for international audiences, consider any possible cultural implications. Colors can signify different things in different cultures. What may appear elegant and desirable to you may indicate death and sorrow to your prospects and clients! To find out more about cross-cultural issues associated with colors, refer to one of the numerous publications available on the topic.