Using Color with Purpose

Color is something we see everywhere, every second of every day. It’s something we never really question or think about too much.

But color choices are so important in any design or branding and play a huge part in how we communicate with audiences and customers.

Tracy Parish, Education Technology Specialist at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Toronto, Canada, joins Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning & Video Ambassador, on this episode of The Visual Lounge to discuss why color needs to be carefully considered in learning design.

Tracy shares a ton of valuable tips and tricks about what to keep in mind when picking color combinations, considering cultural meanings behind color and selecting tools that can make the job easier. Some truly eye-opening words from Tracy in this episode, so don’t miss it.

Learning points from the episode include:

0:00 – Introduction

1:03 – Introducing Tracy

2:08 – How Tracy entered the world of design

4:00 – How to define success in design

5:15 – One tip to improve images/videos

8:37 – What’s the purpose of color in design?

9:50 – Using color to “beautify”?

10:57 – What to bear in mind when choosing colors

17:23 – How do we know if we’re using color correctly?

18:49 – Color to enhance learning

24:03 – Tap into your current environment

24:58 – Using color picker sites

27:10 – Making your design accessible

30:58 – Tool and resource suggestions from Tracy

36:14 – Cultural perceptions of color

39:15 – Pantone’s Color of the Year

41:59 – Tracy’s speed round!

46:18 – Final take

46:54 – Outro

Important links and mentions:

• TechSmith Academy: Learn how to use and create better images and videos (for free): https://academy.techsmith.com
• Stark accessibility checker: https://www.getstark.co/chrome
• Connect with Tracy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyparish/
• Tracy’s website: tracyparish.ca