The next time you are writing an important report or assignment consider the mood you are trying to establish, or the tone you are trying to convey to the reader.

When graphic designers create websites and images they first think about the message their work will need to communicate to the viewer… This can be achieved, in part, by choosing the correct font and colours.

The same can apply to documents and reports too!

I’ll cover the use of Fonts in another blog article, so for the rest of this article let us focus on the use of colours to go with our fonts.

Using Colours As A Form Of Communication

You will no doubt heard of the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words”, well non verbal communication is not limited to pictures. Colours can be used to communicate a mood or invoke a reaction as anyone who has studied Colour Theory will be able to tell you.

Here are some of the more frequently used colours that can be used in your documents…note that I refer to the colours RGB value.

Bright Red – (RGB: 255, 0, 0) Is seen as exciting and stimulating, full of energy. However is can also be seen as a warning or danger.

Pink – (RGB: 228, 114, 151) Is seen as sensual, flirtatious, girly and playful.

Lime Green – (RGB: 153, 255, 0) Is seen as fresh, youthful and refreshing.

Emerald Green – (RGB: 98, 139, 97) Is seen as luxurious and up-scale.

Turquoise – (RGB: 79, 213, 214) Is seen as passionate and protective.

Lavender – (RGB: 153, 102, 153) Is seen as romantic and nostalgic.

 Taupe – (RGB: 179, 165, 128) Is seen as timeless, practical and organic.

These are just a few examples… there are many websites that you can search for that will give you a wider range to choose from.

Selecting Font Colours In Microsoft Word

So you now have the colour you wish to change your text to, but how do you do it? The following example will show you how to do it in Microsoft Word 2010.

Step 1– Select the actual text you wish to change and then choose the text colour changer from the menu, as seen in this image:

Step 2 – On clicking “More Colours” the following window will appear, make sure you select the “Custom” tab.

Step 3 – Making sure the “Colour Mode” is set to RGB, enter the figures…and then click OK.

Step 4 – You should now see your colour appear under “Recent Colours”. You can now select it to change the colour of the text you highlighted earlier.