So we learnt that colors are subjectives. You see greenish blue, I see blueish green!

Thankfully we have ways to make everyone understand what we mean when we mention that a color is vanilla ice cream or deep sea blue.

We classify colors in various ways with specific codes depending on the context and what we use it for.

Colors: Spot vs. Process

Process Colors are created by overlapping primary inks (cyan+magenta+yellow+black) together to make a specific color.

  • CMYK, also called a 4-color process is used for print
  • RGB, is used for virtual colors, basically everything you see on screens

Spot colors are specific colors already mixed together, like the buckets of paint you buy at Home Depot to paint your bedroom walls.

There are many color libraries, but my favorite way to pick colors is with PANTONE (also called PMS).

Where to find color libraries: left in Illustrator, center InDesign and right in Photoshop.

Have a look at the PANTONE website, it’s filled with yummy colors and ideas. And watch the fun video below on the Minion Yellow.