Name: ________________
Beginning Graphic Design
LESSON 2: COLOR
1. Define color theory in simple terms. __________________________________________________________
2. Draw a line from each font type in the left column to its most fitting description in the right column.
Hue color
Saturation how dark or light a color is
Value the intensity of a color
3. What are the three primary colors? ________________ ________________ ________________
4. What are the three secondary colors? ________________ ________________ ________________
5. In order to create professional-looking color schemes, there are tried-and-true formulas called color
_________________ that can help.
Exercise: Create a Palette
Fill in the color wheel on the left side. Then your teacher will assign you a type of color scheme to create.
Refer to its definition below, and then fill in your palette on the right side.
• monochromatic: only uses one color or hue
• analogous: colors next to each other on the wheel
• complementary: opposite each other on the wheel
• split-complementary: uses colors on either side of the complement
• triadic: uses three colors that are evenly spaced, forming a perfect triangle on the wheel
• tetradic: uses two complementary color pairs, forming a rectangle on the wheel
Mini-Project: Branding
Your friend is opening her own outdoor sports store that sells gear for camping, fishing, and other
outdoor activities. She needs help with her branding, both in terms of the color scheme and coming up
with a distinctive logo. She’ll be using them on the sign outside the store and on her website.
Individually or in a small group, design a logo which incorporates an “outdoorsy” vide and a unique color
palette. You can use software or hand-draw it. Then, write a separate paragraph which explains decisions
you made about color, and how this will attract customers.
Homework: Watch and Reflect
Watch one of the short videos listed below. Then, write a one-paragraph reflection which provides a brief
summary and at least three things you learned about color which you didn’t know before.
“The Effect of Color” “Colour in Storytelling” “How We See Color”
“Color Science (Pixar in a Box)” “How Do HEX Color Codes Work?” “Why It’s (Sometimes) Illegal…”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Resources
• Color Lesson Text (from GCF’s website)
• Symphony’s Results for Color (additional curated resources)