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Ya know, there seems to be some times here when off topic seems to become the topic and the topic becomes off topic....I think this has become one of those weeks!
At the risk of gettin tomatos thrown at me for askin something about signs..
What's some of you folks' favorite color combos to use AND why?
Just to start things off, I think that rich forest green, terra cotta red and ivory is a combo that can't be beat for a rich sophisticated look.
Next....
(Just a thought...wouldn't be a great world if a sign related internet posting board that was frequented by some of the best designers and signmakers in the English speaking world...could put together a hundred post thread on a topic like this one?) Just dreaming.
------------------ Don Coplen aka "SaintPete" Coplen Designs St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com
[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited May 05, 2001).]
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Oh Don, I love colors, mixing them and putting them into formulars is one of my favorite past times. I use different colors at different times of the year on many of the cars I stripe for dealerships. I find that persons are more apt to pick darker colors during the winter months and so on and so forth........ Some of my favorite combos include utilizing the same color of the vehicle itself then tinting them just enough to show up. After all what I do is try to compliment the vehicle and not contrast with it.........
------------------ HotLines Joey Madden,45 years in the Classic Art of Pinstriping.
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Deep greens, wineberrys, ash greys, ivories, pretty much same as you, Don.
As for Joey..........I always pictured him as approaching a group of cans and saying.........."Awright, dammit!! Git yer sorry colored a$$#$ outa them cans and up on the @%#$&@*# sign face!".................and those colors would LEAP right out of the cans and tastefully arrange themselves on the sign face!
good morning, joey!
:^)
------------------ St.Marie Graphics & Makin' Tracks Sound Studio Kalispell, Montana stmariegraphics@centurytel.net http://www.stmariegraphics.com 800 735-8026 We're chiseling every day of the week! :^)
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Hi Don. My personal favorite is a Deep Wineberry background, with Lilac copy, and a Robin's Egg Blue accent or border. Try it out, and you'll find that it looks very rich & classy.
------------------ Ken Henry Henry & Henry Signs London, Ontario Canada (519) 439-1881 e-mail kjmlhenry@home.
Some days you get to be the dog....other days, you get to be the fire hydrant.
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Pierre? Are you so sure that that isn't what actually happens?
My favorite story along those lines was the one that Cheryl Lucas told me bout her guy Jay Suhm fiddlin with a design layout on his computer until finally he picks up the mouse and screams at it, point blank....
"MAKE ME A SIGN!!!!!!"
I laughed so hard at that story my hair almost fell out!
------------------ Don Coplen aka "SaintPete" Coplen Designs St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com
[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited May 05, 2001).]
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Ken......I am going to try that combo. That sounds nice! My favorites are...... dark blue background, white, imitation gold, and powder blue with a splash of raspberry. Or a red background..white.. & chrome yellow....(I love rich backgrounds.) Forest green background, cream, with copper accents.
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jimmy iam wit you man....i sell the s*** outa red vinyl....and put it on white corplaste. i have a roll of forest green vinyl i bought back in 95-96(20x150 interm.)still have about 20 feet of it....when i get to do a "nice sign"(which aint to often in this cheap a** area)i like beige backgrounds, med brown, or med green lettering....sometimes take reg orange and make it sorta burnt orange and red outlines, and golds witha black pinstripe to seperate it from the back ground...even more..
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
[This message has been edited by old paint (edited May 05, 2001).]
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Tony, I picked up a book at Barnes and Noble bookstore that's a gem. "The Designer's Guide to Color Combinations-500 plus historic and modern color formulas in CMYK" by Leslie Carbarga. I have a bookcase full of designers color books and they are sorta helpful, but this one is great (in my opinion). It's limited in that I wish it were 5 inches thick, but then it would have cost $100 too, so ya gotta take the good with the bad. I hope it's part of a series, cause I'll buy all of these they can publish! $28 US
(on a side note here, Barb, if you're reading this....is it possible that we could have somebody else's picture under our name? There's something kinda disconcerting about knowing that every time I post, there's gonna be a pic of a middleage, homely, bald guy next to whatever I wrote...How bout a pic of Sandra Bullock in a bikini?...if it's no trouble? Thanx)
------------------ Don Coplen aka "SaintPete" Coplen Designs St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com
[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited May 05, 2001).]
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Well... I know this will sound weird, and I have no idea if it would actually work on a sign, but my favourite colour combination, is purple and green... but they have to be nice, complimenting shades... Yep, purple and green... love em
------------------ From Katie Wright, 16 year old professional signie wannabe from Aus.
"Life is a great big canvas, throw all the paint on it that you can"
Posts: 530 | From: Brisbane, Australia | Registered: Feb 1999
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I love those sick colors, Purple and Green. As a matter of fact tonight I have to outline a flamed bike setup in a special mixture of Purple and Lime Green as the flames are done in Candies of Pagan Gold, Burnt Orange and tips of Magenta. The person who painted this project is Dennis Epple and his work is magnificent. I have never seen such stunning work as he does almost effortlessly.
------------------ HotLines Joey Madden,45 years in the Classic Art of Pinstriping.
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You said it Joey - I didn't know of Denis Epple but I was sent a Christmas card two years ago using just those colours and thats what started me off liking them together - I certainly never would have thought they could look so good. I also am into tone-on-tone. Particularly cream, medium beige and dark beige as used on faux stonework and certain murals. David has a very nice tie with this tone-on-tone black and a couple of greys - it reminds me a bit of the way some pinstripers do it. Subtle and classy.
------------------ "Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend" - John Sargent
Karen Tighe, Strandhill, Sligo in the Wild Wet West of Ireland.
mIRC = cafe_cruiser
[This message has been edited by Karen T (edited May 06, 2001).]
Posts: 238 | From: Great Britain | Registered: May 2000
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I overordered on a job a while ago and wound up with a spare 4 litres of rhodamine. Since then I've found a million and one colour shemes that work with rhodamine as the basis. I used it on my own sign out the front, one side advertises one facet of my work and the other side advertises another. Both sides when viewed have a backdrop of grass, which varies depending on the rainfall from vibrant green to pale buff, rhodamine provides great contrast to either. Throw a bit of green in it for a richer tone or throw a touch of yellow in it if you to take the edge of the it and retain the vibrancy. Letter colours that work well with it are lilac, pink, yellow, light browns, violet, red and purple but no doubt you could work a million other hues with it also. I also dont mind a bit of light thalo blue with yellow. I was tld during my apprenticeship the phrase "blue and green should never be seen". I figured the person that coined that phrase must never have looked out their window. Tony B, if I may make a suggestion... buy or better still, make a colour wheel and then invest in a book outlining basic colour schemes/theory ie: complimentary, split complimentary, monochromatic blah blah blah. Simple in essence and damn near foolproof and also should provide a little background into colour neutralising and so on. Now all I need is one more rhodamine job to finish off the tin so I can moce onto the next colour binge. David
------------------ David Fisher D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting Brisbane Australia [email] da_pmf@yahoo.com [/email] aka Bloke-
Posts: 1450 | From: Brisbane Queensland Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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It's funny you mention the forest green, ivory, and terra cotta combo..
That's pretty close to the paint job I want to do on my truck, except it will be a combination of pearl white, tourmaline (pearl green/teal, it's current color), orange, and carbon fiber. I'm actually going to build carbon fiber body parts, then lay all the colors on top but leaving areas where the carbon will show through.
When I choose colors for a job, I usually pick two colors that really contrast each other and then one or two more colors that compliment one of the "main" colors.. kinda like the deep blue, yellow, red, orange and black on my website.
Kooka: I LOVE purple and green together.. even more than yellow and burgundy! Here's a photo edit of my truck I did a couple years ago.. a purple and green drip pattern. =)
------------------ Mike Pipes Digital Illusion Custom Graphics Lake Havasu City, AZ http://www.stickerpimp.com
Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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My favourites are a bright neon green Background, A beautiful neon yellow helvetica bold for the main copy, oh but you have to squeeze the helvetic bold by 70% to make it stand out. For secondary copy Brush Script all capitals on an arc.. of course done in neon orange, with a neon yellow drop shadow.. try it you won't believe your eyes. Neil
------------------ "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF
Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Don, I would really hate to see this topic die so quickly. Really interested in what every body else is using. But in what format also. I bought a book a few years ago that had a background blend of purple and teal. I decided to try that on our business cards. It looked great. My wife picked out a mint green for the copy and was surprised at how it stood out from the background. I'm really pulling my hair out right now with what colors would really stand out for our New business name. "SignCountry". As putting this on our letterhead and of course our vehicle will be our only soucre of advertisement. Any ideas anyone? Oh yeah. Fumbling with typestyle too. I've redone and redone this 5 times and I'm still not satisfied. Could really use some input. Thanks Gary H.
------------------ Gary&Dawn Hoopes SignCountry Overland Park, Ks. 913 831-1152
Posts: 40 | From: Overland Park, Kansas USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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Good for you Don, for doing something about the OT topics, rather than just talking about them! And good topic too.
I'm with you. I love rich colors. I am personally not into what we call california colors, bright cartoon colors together. (unless of course they appropriately serve the purpose in certain instances, like a kid's play area or funky skateboard shop, etc.) I really feel these bright colors can easily cheapen a look if done in an area that isn't suitable. (sorry, but there's alot of this in SC)
I do love working with earth tones, which is relatively a big new thing here lately. But when I do, I itch to want to paint what I visualize rather than struggle with solid patches of vinyl at times. I may just get into paint yet!
My alltime fav color to work with is black, as strange as that may sound. I love the quiet sophistication of it. And it also makes cool cow spots on white cabinets.
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Hi all..am here at the MARS public library...sneakin' & postin. My all-time favorite color background is black, lettered with shades of light & dark magenta or process blue (the best-smellin' 1-Shot)This also looks good with yellow-faded-into orange lettering (sorry Steve) Everybody around here, when they don't want white background/red Helvetica, likes forest green with cream-colored or imitation gold lettering & burgundy accents. Love- JILL
------------------ Jill M. Welsh
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Dark Green/Burgundy/Gold (gilded) combinations. Reason – usually done in an upscale, sophisticated nature, which normally has a greater $ margin to it.
Yellow/Orange/Red for excitement and a playful feel.
Black/Silver/Pink for a classy look.
I would like to take a moment here and heap praise on some people that understand good color composition and layout. Certain colors combinations, when used by a skilled craftsperson, look fantastic! I’m not a fan of Apple Green, but have seen a couple of designs using Black/Apple Green/Purple/Lavender that look very attractive. I like Joey’s statement about complimenting verse contrasting. Some people really know when to do one over the other or in what moderation relevant to each other. Thanks to those people for making attractive signage and giving others something to study and learn from.
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Hey Steve, like my shirt? Eerrrnge is my all time fav-or-right color. The big sign man paints the sky with it every evening. ( just kiddin' with ya) Seriously orange is my fav. Please don't tell my therapist as they say weird things about people who like orange! For a knock your eyes out wild sign try royal blue background with yellow and red with some of it faded into orange. Real attention getter and readable.
------------------ Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454 PH. (504)386-3313 casey@i-55.com
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist.
Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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No, Stephen I don't eat very many oranges, but carrots ROCK! Please don't post any more about the effect of orange on cons. I am trying very hard to deceive folks into believing I am just another mild mannered Grandmother! I DO NOT decorate my home or shop with orange, just myself and Margaritaville(my back yard). You are very right about decorating with color. Put yellow in your kitchen and you will gain weight. I wanted to decorate my shop tropical and my Grand-daughter said she would dis-own me! We compromised and went with nautical, green & grey with blue as an accent color. But I do get to wear orange as much as I desire. If you ever make it down to Louisiana come visit and I will not wear "that color", I promise.
Casey J.
------------------ Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454 PH. (504)386-3313 casey@i-55.com
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist.
Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Kathy ... a glimpse of my kitchen (and "Max" the cat.) Yup, that's "school bus" yellow for sure! One of my favs on the colour palette. Got a retro thing going on here. Stainless steel counter-tops, grey and white checker-board granite-like porcelain tile floor and lotsa funky textured glass throughout the room.
Sounds crazy I know, but it seems to work. People who visit really like it!
And, I'm happy to report .... no weight gains!
------------------ "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
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Janette, Sing along...... "You've got sunshine on a cloudy day When it rains outside Max comes in to play"
Great kitchen! Glad you haven't gained any weight, I would, because you would never get me out of there. What a way to start the day. Must be nice waking up and having coffee in such a bright atmosphere. The color of the walls really brings out Max's eyes doesn't it?
------------------ Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454 PH. (504)386-3313 casey@i-55.com
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist.
Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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That was too funny when Jay picked the mouse off the pad, speaking into it like a microphone, demanding that it "MAKE ME A SIGN!" He was new on the puter then and was having a "moment".
Katie, I absolutely adore 'purple' and green together, as well as other bright, tropical colors. Matter of fact, I did a layout for a sandblasted sign just last week; the customer wanted dark green letters and a white background. Of course, I showed her the layout she wanted and the one I wanted. (mine was gray, white, black, green and PURPLE! Needless to say, she just had to have the one with the PURPLE on it! (hehe, it cost more too)
I need me one of them thar color books too! Sounds like a great reference for color combos of the era and expressions, etc.
Color my world! Cher.
------------------ Cheryl Lucas a/k/a "Shag" on MIRC Vital Signs & Graphics, Etc. Cape Coral, Florida VSignsNgraphics@aol.com
Posts: 987 | From: Cape Coral, FL USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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Tony, Go into yor local K-mart, Wal-mart, etc, yarn department and look for this 1.99 color wheel that they sell. It just a cardboard wheel with all the colors,in about 5-6 shades, and it has arrows that point across the wheel to what colors match. For a two color job it finds that color directly opposite. For a three color it shows you, in tri-angle form what combinations look good. I don't need it but its great to show customers.
------------------ Laura Butler Vision Graphics and Sign 560 Oak St. Lapeer, Mi 48446 810-664-3812 visiongraphics@tir.com
"Anything thats comes from my shop, comes from the right brain."
Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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I started this post off asking what people's favorite color combos are...
A thought came to mind due to several of your answers. Another question/angle to the post:
[bold]How do you go about choosing colors for a color scheme?[/bold]
Sort of a "give a person a fish and he eats for a day...." type of question.
I, for one, like to choose one color for the dominant color and then choose usually two other colors that compliment the first one. I also make a point to choose colors that are dark, medium and light in value, so they don't compete with each other in the layout.
Next....
------------------ Don Coplen aka "SaintPete" Coplen Designs St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com
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I tend to put contrast as one of the most important design elements there is. I can apply this for colour, line weight, structure (rigid vs. fluid), letterstyles etc.
But I also try to use harmony in this goal. It is not enough to just have contrast, or else I could think of some truly horrible consequences. heh heh Something I learned in school regarding paintings was that it seems incomplete unless the full spectrum of colour is represented. For instance, if you were considering a triadic relationship on the colour wheel, a painting the colours of mostly reds, purples and blues is severely lacking in the warmer yellow colours on the other "corner" of the triad. After knowing this, some of the examples shown to me were actually a little disturbing in the neglect of that colour range. Sorry if this sounds "art-school hokey", but this is actually a strong reminder in my choice of colour schemes for signs. I try to use a triadic colour scheme most of the time, even if it only barely touches on one of the "corners". Varying tints, tones and shades of these colours play an important role. I'm not saying that everything HAS to touch on all areas of the colour wheel, but it helps to know and plan the effect even a two-toned design might have. - to know what's happening.
Having babbled on like that, I have to say that I still need a lot of work on my colour. I seem to rely heavily on burgundys, dark blues, ivories, and purples. I've been trying to be "braver" with my colour choice, as I feel as though I'm in a bit of a rut that way. My new insight is that I need to introduce more pure hues into my work to make things really pop next to the more muted tones that I usually use. (By the way, I'm always open for advice if anyone can clearly see something that I should be doing and aren't) I think "brave" is the word for me. I seem to really shy away from pure vibrant hues.
Again, I apologize if this is treating the subject too seriously for some, but in fact the process of design and being able to put the methodology each person uses into words is something that I find tremendously valuable. It's probably the number one reason that I'm here. I look forward to others' replies.
Must now leave to drink beer and watch hockey...
------------------ Bob Darnell London, Ontario, Canada
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Neil, your combos are very popular in this area..I see it everywhere.
Personally I prefer dark backgrounds - EVERYTHING looks good against black.
To help me choose I use a copy of Vestil Harrison's 837 Color Combinations. He was a totally color blind sign painter who could only see greys, and had his sign painter friends label his cans of paint for him, and wrote down combos that worked for him. I believe he published his book around 1939.
------------------ "If it isn't fun, why do it?" Signmike@aol.com Mike Languein Doctor of Letters BS, MS, PhD ___________________
You know what BS is, MS is More of the Same, and it's Piled Higher and Deeper here
posted
That reminds me of my latest artwork... It looked great, but there was something missing... It used the blue/purple/green end of the scale, mostly, with a touch of brown, red and gold/bronze... And it was missing something... And then I added it in... A yellow/light brown sign above the doorway... It really finished it off, perfectly. No, I'm not kidding. It really warmed up the whole picture, just by adding that one thing in. I'm glad that I did it Hopefully I will be able to post a pic of my artwork up on the bb soon, so that others can see it... I finished it at home, then it had to go back to school... I was suffering withdrawel symptoms a couple of minutes after my teacher came to pick it up... The shed doesn't look right without it now
But, what I meant to say, was that a touch of all colours along the wheel were used, and it now looks right, rather that the way it was, which looked, to say the least.... wrong
I like it
------------------ From Katie Wright, 16 year old professional signie wannabe from Aus.
"Life is a great big canvas, throw all the paint on it that you can"
Posts: 530 | From: Brisbane, Australia | Registered: Feb 1999
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posted
Most of the time when I'm picking colors, I go off of what the base color is, and second, what the customer's favorite colors are. I've painted TOO many bikes this winter so that's where my head is. Usually what I look for is what "mood" will ya get... The bike I just finished was black, and he KNEW he wanted orange flames. But it had to look wild, not like rhino-in-the-jungle wild, but just-got-cut-off-in-traffic-and-it's-one-of-those-days wild...
So it got green pinstripes.
Now had he had said, "make it classy", we'd have put a blue pinstripe on there; "contemporary" - purple; "evil, but clean" - red...
Typically, I work off the color wheel, and try to tilt the complimentary color one way or another...
I like it 
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