How to Apply a Color Palette to Your Design - Tutorial

How do I use a color palette? How many colors should I use? How will I know if my colors look good together? Making a color palette is the first step, but knowing how to use it is something else.
In this video, The Futur Creative Director, Greg Gunn, shares a handy color trick known as the 60-30-10 rule. He’ll explain what the rule is and how you can use it to give balance to your color palette. By the end of this video, you will understand how to come up with your own color ratio and give your palette purpose and consistency, wherever it is used.
Want to learn more about color? Sign up for our color course - bit.ly/ColorCreatives
Follow Greg on Instagram - / gunngreg
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[@TheFuturAcademy]

🎨 Want to learn more about color? Sign up for our color course - bit.ly/ColorCreatives

[@PHlophe]

whew! Chile you just spilled some major tea right here. I am totally feeling this.

[@catalinanzoolala2121]

@@PHlophe BMW g Mg 0 and a lot cc are. OP cut c z the

[@ToniHernandezSalam]

Hello, very nice work, i love your videos and i am considering to buy your large course, but there is something i do not understand, I have a question. When you say, you have black-white-cream as primary, blue as secondary, and fucsia&gold as accent. What is the proportion between the three primary colors? if we share the 60% between black-white-cream, does it mean we should use 20% of black, 20% of white and 20% of cream? how can then these be primary if we are gonna use them LESS than the secondary blue which is 30%? Thank you for your help! :)

[@riteshthahryani]

thank you so much for such use full information, i learned a lot here and use those tips in my videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJyxm3xmerSAhLs

[@riteshthahryani]

thank you so much for such use full information, i learned a lot here and use those tips in my videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJyxm3xmerSAhLs

[@SpaceshipRocketFuel]

This isn't a sob story... I went to university to learn design around 18 years ago. The course was poor, the teaching was dire, it was oversubscribed and woefully underfunded - unfortunately we didn't realise until too late, probably naivety on our part. Fast forward to today and after a few safe corporate in-house roles I've realised I'm nearly 40 and I lack so many of the basic skills - I'm being shown up by junior designers in terms of basic knowledge, and I'm being shamed in front of other colleagues. To the point recently where I considered retraining in something else. As a last chance, I've made a conscious effort to really refresh my skills (or learn in the first place...) and am going through huge amounts of content such as this - it's genuinely bringing back the enthusiasm I had some 18-20 years ago to create, solve problems and enjoy doing my work. Thanks a lot for this - and am hoping to purchase some of the Futur courses soon, just need to be a bit mindful of spending at the moment... Edit - I bought the colour course. Thanks Greg!

[@simonesimone2016]

Just give that man a like

[@goldcherries]

Really enjoyed reading your comment. I've been in video and frequently am required to make decisions for text and colors and I didn't go to design school (just took 1 beginner class) and so am overwhelmed by the clean layouts and colors I see on high design videos. It's distressing to see young new graduates who really went to art school and seem to magically know how to create visually amazing video while I struggle just picking colors. It's so nice to see something like this break down what feels like secret information that I'll never have because I didn't go to design school.

[@fandydiadline]

Wow, "bringing back the enthusiasmn" made me smile.

[@waqaaar]

wholesome!

[@hkhatri12]

I know how that feels. I am currently taking a course [to graduate on May, 21] and my design courses were kind of non-existent for sure. Glad that I was focussing more on other parts of marketing and designing was never my war to fight. I just keep upskilling myself, just in case.

[@celestecruz]

Dang I wish my art college is as entertaining as this.

[@Ggunn]

Wish mine was too.

[@shwetasawji5849]

Haha! Even i wished my art college shared this technique earlier. But happy to know now☺️

[@danielthephan]

Wish i went to art college

[@siefmassoud1273]

I wish i went to an art college from the beginning

[@siefmassoud1273]

@@danielthephan same sadness

[@Heisenberg-xc8ub]

I'm not even a designer and I'm here, that's how good this video is.

[@DanielDogeanu]

Brah! That's how you become a designer! Run away before it's too late! 😂

[@Heisenberg-xc8ub]

@@DanielDogeanu I can't! Their videos are very magnetic. Send halp pls. 😂 Thruth is, I'm a backend web developer wanting to up my web design skills. The rules they give to apply the colors are so good that even after having no design skills, I was able to apply it.

[@Heisenberg-xc8ub]

@@DanielDogeanu Here's a sample of what I made from this video haha imgur.com/a/yfJjEBO

[@onuohaudeagha1255]

@@DanielDogeanu why should he run?

[@indrajithlal6160]

@@Heisenberg-xc8ub looks good

[@faranjaved4001]

Every one is teaching how to create a palette but you are the one who taught us how to properly apply them and the impact of percentages / ratios of each color on the design ! Precious stuff for free ! Keep creating.

[@kwakuduah9087]

very true

[@hyoriittai5411]

Fr this is the only video that showed how to use it😭

[@tempodobnii]

I can't believe this is free. This is a 200 page book content spread across few 10 minute videos. You're amazing man, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@ibrahem891]

unbelievable nowdays what a quality educational content someone could get for free online , thank you for this informative video i've been struggling with proper use of colors in my designs .

[@mosart9689]

I second that! Wow

[@ahmedabdullah5705]

This was an amazing video! Guys, please give us more Gregg Gun content, he's amazing infront of the camera and his teaching is so simple and entertaining and straight to the point

[@Ggunn]

You are very nice.

[@nirvanakun]

I NEEDED a video like this. You're right when you say that it's content that we crave!

[@nazmussaqib8346]

I don't know how this guy is super talented to explain this complex content in such a simple way!!!!. I am a UX UI designer with few years of experience but I was struggling with choosing the color palettes and I think most of the designer face this problem. I read through some of the article/ books recap the color theory once again , dig down hot to choose color palletes but I was still struggling to use color palletes in my design in right way. I am shocked, speechless , happy and don't know exact words how can I express my emotion what I am feeling now after watching this video and clearing the concept.

[@designersmantra]

love thing this series on colors. what I am most happy about is the style of presentation from Greg is informative with a handsome sense of humor.

[@phacowil]

There's just one thing that makes an instructor unique. You're pedagogically skilled. Your ability to break down complex topics like this one is exceptional. It took me about 6hrs of searching for videos like this. You just got a +1 loyal subscriber.

[@MariaManuelaAndrade]

I can't thank you enough for this. It's SO HARD to find tutorials on color. Yes, I get the whole colors have meaning and what not. But, if you actually intend to use color, not just the whole minimal, all white + 1 color kinda thing, it's very hard to find quality material on how to use those colors. Plus, you are an amazing speaker! So fun to watch.

[@jasperdhaene4275]

Well that blew my mind. By knowing some color theory I could create my own color palettes, but it was still as frustrating as trying to use the nice looking 'popular' palettes, simply because I had no idea how to actually use the colors. This is the first video I've seen on color that has a very practical set of rules to visualise the proportions you should use (according to the 60-30-10 rule) and how to choose good pairings between the individual colors. Thanks a lot!

[@obadaghabra394]

Keep those coming! Greg's color videos are the most useful and practical raw design knowledge on the channel imo!

[@Ndamoly]

This was so fun to watch! I like how you added bits of humor but still made a great video. Thank you so much.

[@kianatehrani]

I just want you to know, I’ve been looking for these color application videos my whole life! Thank you so much!!!

[@canopyzerowaste6941]

This is awesome, no one's really explaining HOW to use the color palette - this really helps understand how to build the palette in the first place since the vision becomes clearer. Thanks for this awesome tutorial! :D

[@alya6393]

Amazing content thank you! Just started learning and got overwhelmed and very confused by all the complex articles so that cleared things a lot

[@MrTabasamu]

This is amazing. I'm learning a lot especially considering I'm self-learning during this lockdown period. And it's so much FUN!!!

[@mohammedhamdi8329]

This was really useful, that will help a lot with the current project that I'm working on at the moment

[@osherez6597]

Most useful straight forward and practical series on youtube period. Thank you

[@rotipisang]

struggled with applying colour palette nicely for a long time and I tried to put this in practice just now and wow I'm very blown away right now. I MIGHT REALLY SIGN UP FOR THE CLASS

[@denzilwilliams6772]

This was extremely helpful, doing this for all my projects form now on Thank you.

[@noexskz]

All of Greg's videos are gold! Thank you!

[@Animefreak242]

You guys are always coming through with the timely videos

[@a.h.1538]

THIS is singlehandedly THE best branding video on YT. The creation of rules is hella key. Thank you.

[@peteroffline6616]

i love this series, i never knew how to tackle colour theory and this is a great introduction

[@that1cooluncle]

Such a timeless video on color. Thank you for sharing and spreading your love for color~

[@franciscomsosa]

Love this! I really like that you present a system for testing palette colors. That's useful and quite unique compared to the videos I've watched so far on using the 60-30-10 rule. Very useful, thank you!

[@LeafarMind]

Gold, pure gold. I need that course for sure!!!!

[@wasiuraji5550]

So, this is how magic happen in design of colours usages, wonderful and thanks.

[@christianeholden]

Awesome colour education. I particularly struggled so far with finding the right colours. Am starting to use this way now - thanks for sharing

[@arnouthpessoa]

Thank you so much. Even studying art, color theory and etc for years, this lesson gave me something new to apply to the color palette and test the UI. Thx again!

[@trblmkr5139]

i loved the lesson! didnt love the end result much tbh but hey to each his own. Just thought it could've used a different palette entirely but his methods are rock solid, I love it. SUBSCRIBED

[@9mmKK]

Man, I needed this so much. I thought that I will never understand how to use colors before this. Thank you for the value!

[@ilzebrand9785]

This is probably the best tutorial I've watched on how to use color. Wow!

[@truyenhot]

😅 this one is the best that I’ve seen so far, it’s really explains how to use a color palette 👍👍👍

[@incurromunio7797]

Wow! Never really though about this in this kind of detail, this was amazing!

[@johnlin6121]

Amazing!. This video answers a lot of questions I've been having for a long time.

[@andriizubchevskyi]

Thank you guys for another insight. I am not a designer, but your videos are super helpful for general understanding, and they are entertaining. All the best to you!!!

[@dineth47]

Your colour matching is amazing. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@abbashali01]

That one was awesome... Definately need more of Greg

[@EliSamba]

This video is... quality, quality, and quality content! Thank you very much, Greg and The futur!

[@dzai4388]

This is so brilliant 😭😭 I’ve been looking for something like this for so long

[@malcy1111]

Love your work Greg. And your course is great - it's bookmarked for regular use...

[@martinkirilov2617]

I am literally building my website right now and I've been struggling with the concept of which colors to use and how to combine/use them exactly. This video has been so useful. I am about to head to illustrator and build the little models you did and go off of that. Thanks!

[@mattb925]

Amazing video! You saved me a lot of headache in managing colors. Thank you!!

[@emillysantos6118]

This is the BEST WAY to how use a color pallet! I like it this trick! thank you so much! 😍

[@brianfong5711]

Gregg "Top" Gunn taking our breath away

[@Ggunn]

Thanks, Ice Man.

[@VarunKumar]

Definitely helpful! You have an amazing teaching style!

[@AbbyAllwood]

This is an amazing video, exactly what I needed to know! I couldn't find another video which gives a detailed and clear example on how to use a palette for assets and UI design, so thank you very much!

[@KeradaSport]

Greg's tutorials are always funny 😂 Shout out man 🔥🔥🔥

[@omuriloribeiro]

Wonderful class. Thanks, Greg.

[@kaoutherakid4433]

Thank you so much!! 😉 I'm working on a project where I have a good color palette but I was struggling a bit with how to apply it correctly. This was very helpful 😁

[@madiko]

Great tutorial. Many thanks for sharing your insights, Greg. 😊 Since I am coming back once again, I add some time stamps for the respective chapters that might as well serve as a checklist: [ 00:00 ] Introduction [ 00:17 ] How to NOT use colour palettes (introduction to the exemplary landing page) [ 01:02 ] Colours: Context [ 01:20 ] 60-30-10 rule [ 01:38 ] 60-30-10 rule - examples [ 02:19 ] Applying the 60-30-10 rule to the exemplary web page [ 02:25 ] Color ratio (starting point) [ 02:37 ] Choosing the primary and secondary colours as well as accents [ 04:07 ] Defining the basic colour rules for backgrounds and typography depending on what colours work together [ 04:07 ] Backgrounds [ 04:39 ] Headlines (incl. legibility 05:00) [ 05:39 ] Links [ 06:50 ] Buttons [ 07:59 ] Design elements (for decoration or else) [ 09:15 ] Applying the newly defined colour rules on the exemplary landing page [ 09:40 ] Menue [ 09:45 ] first section / basics [ 10:15 ] second section / basics [ 10:44 ] third section (main call to action) / basics [ 10:58 ] stepping back and looking at the landing page on a whole [ 11:14 ] fine tuning the illustrations / simplifying using the visual hierarchy [ 12:45 ] recap

[@jcvilas-boas792]

Your videos are just amazing!! Keep up the good work!

[@fatemehsharifi643]

It was surprisingly pleasing to watch!

[@samdeddens8690]

Very helpful video. I went to design school and am now a practicing professional designer and this was still a great refresher on color.

[@clairevee09]

I lovee these exercises so much. Thank you for a great content.

[@Luk_Fu]

Incredible video man. Very good topic I’ve never seen a video on (unlike the dozens of pallet creation videos) and very well put together.

[@adamastorrotsamada7424]

I reaally like your style! Thank you for these amazing videos.

[@BrownBerry360]

Awesome , i've been searching for too long for using color palette correctly and you explained it very well , thank you :)

[@bharatapat]

The lighting of the scene is so good!

[@annatrombetta]

This video is SO helpful, thank you so much!!

[@joyk1288]

I don't know why I'm so surprised by how much I'm learning haha great stuff as usual!

[@yuurinikiforov758]

That was the most fun self-self-tutorial I ever watched! 😆😆😆😆😆 so much fun and you gain subscriber & fan sir

[@mahdirostami7034]

Best video in showcasing colors in use. Thank you.

[@lovedhylan09]

Your course is 👍 Learning so much! Thank you Gregg!

[@Ggunn]

Happy to hear it, Dharshini!

[@annelotte2520]

I learned sooo much from this, needed this!

[@bkfilmy5585]

This is worth it watching... Too many information narrated in a simple yet effcetie way Tnx for this video

[@elsapakopoulou2465]

that's an excellent and direct approach to the use of color! Thank you, Greg!

[@imjentran]

Thank you so much for these color theory videos. I really enjoyed them!

[@itpedia2311]

Man this is the video i was looking for so long like everyone talking about color theory but no one explains how to apply that Thanks for sharing this info

[@volodymyrsymchuk6762]

Very cool video! Thank you, Greg. Ready to try it out on my project

[@3Mas1Letras]

Dude, I just found your channel and totally loved it. Your working process is fantastic!

[@magatsu82]

I had to watch this muted and with subtitles but after that it's an incredibly useful video! straight to the point and very pragmatic. Awesome video!

[@-ct-celcomtechniques2566]

Finally the course I was looking for ! Thanks a lot !

[@MdHasan-nj1jh]

Just loved man. It was awesome.

[@alemafzalli2301]

Love your stuff Greg

[@abhishek_ux]

Hey Greg! Amazing video once again. Thanks for sharing this.

[@opeyemiokediji8069]

The futur and the futur Academy- my favourite KZbin channels so far. I'm so sold out to these channels. Such immense value! Team 1Bminus1 all the way (cheering you all from Nigeria ). I am surely a beneficiary of this vision 😄

[@kingcopones]

Thank you so much!! I've been looking for this lately :)

[@muhammadzabi4439]

wow... you won my heart, just going to watch and learn more.

[@hannehanneart8605]

thank you! I’ve learned soooo much!

[@emarv6189]

This is the greatest design tip I have ever learned THANK YOUUUUU.

[@yueshangeng6754]

That demo practice in the video is great!

[@garyvoigt321]

This was extremely helpful! Thank you.

[@mantastrumpickas5508]

Whaaaaa In just 13 minutes you showed us what i've learned in first year at art college... what you showed us is amazing. Its simplified and its clear. Thanks!

[@humairanaeempasha2362]

Omg this was such an amazing video. Didn't even realize I reached the end of it. Kudos to you for such amazing content!

[@yousefg3320]

I'm not into commenting and giving feedback - but for the very first time I feel i can use colors and to be afraid plus i know know how to experiment and try different colors - thank you Greg you're an awesome teacher

[@NSAB120]

This video is so amazing! ❤

[@ketonizm1741]

Loved the video!!! Awesome work. Thank you very much.

[@pankajwasnik5147]

Awesome. Great video on how to actually use the colour palette. Thanks

[@bigpoppasmurf]

Subscribed real quick! Amazing information, simply delivered and entertaining. We Applaud you , good person !

[@studioss3630]

This is the best video on color out there. I'm going to use this to redesign my portfolio right now. If you haven't subscribed to this channel yet, you are missing out on so much valuable content like this.

[@marcortega22]

Gracias! Este video es muy valioso. Ya había escuchado sobre está teoría del 60-30-10 pero no la había aplicado así. Mil gracias!! Suban más vídeos como este por favor. 👍

[@steffsamtoy3310]

Thank you so much for this precious stuff

[@ajitgurung7400]

Thank you greg ❤️ you are painting my brain.

[@naomiowesme6447]

you’re amazing Greg