Using Color to Craft the Right Impression with Your Home Crafts

If you've been looking at getting a home business started, whether that's through a platform like Etsy or selling locally in your area, there are likely a few concepts you've had to learn. With crafts in particular, there is a lot to take in, so today we wanted to help by looking at the basics of color design and how you can apply it to your own works.

Accessories

When it comes to jewelry or other wearable items, there are two approaches that you can look at. The first is to lean heavily into a range of bright and vibrant colors, and that's true of anywhere that gems are depicted, particularly in visual media like advertising or CG graphics for online games. The casino world, for instance, loves using bold and powerful colors in slot games like Starburst, a staple title where much of the visual appeal comes down to high-contrast primary shades for maximum impact.

The other approach is more subtle and relies on customer connotation. This can be through colors like beige and browns that are always linked to a more organic, eco-friendly look, but it is most commonly applied by simply removing the color entirely. Thanks to decades of marketing, many customers now associate any clear gem, regardless of the value, with high sophistication linked to diamonds.

Cosmetics

As with any modern product type, it's impossible to group every brand into one range of shades as each is unique and there are always some that try something different. What makes cosmetic branding really stand out on shelves is less the colors being used and more the way in which they are applied. The key word here is minimalism.

If you look at celebrity cosmetic lines like Rhode or r.e.m. beauty, you'll notice that the common theme within the packaging is mono-color. Whether the color is muted and sophisticated or bright and vibrant, the accepted standard for cosmetic design is a single backing color with clear text on top. This clear-cut design makes the item as much of a fashion item as anything else the user may own and is chosen for both stylishness and ease of use.

Furniture

Much like accessories, the color palette for furniture is found on the product itself rather than any packaging, although in this case, it is more the shade being shown that makes a difference. Furniture, after all, comes down to the material being used to make it, most prominently in wooden creations that are the most likely to be made by home crafters.

With wooden furniture, the rule of thumb is that a darker shade of brown is automatically seen as more high-end, while lighter woods are usually linked to brands like IKEA that specialize in budget pieces. As such, your choice of starting material can have a massive impact not only on the selling price of your item but the perceived value of your customers as to what they're getting.

No matter what you are making, it's critical to nail down your color palette before you start. You can use the examples above as a great starting point, but like many things, color design is far more of an art form than a science!