Graphic Design Theory - Color & Contrast (Udemy.com)
Use Color And Contrast Masterfully In Your Design Projects
Created by: Martin Perhiniak
Last updated May 2022
What you will learn
- Intuitively know which combination of colors or harmony would work best for your composition.
- Color terms (value, hue, chrome, tint, shade, saturation – what they mean and how they impact your designs?)
- Color harmonies (complementary, split complementary, triad, tetradic, analogous, monochromatic, achromatic)
- Combining colors (primary, secondary, tertiary, dominant, highlight, accent, etc.)
- Understand how we perceive colors and how they affect us (social and cultural meanings of colors).
- Use contrast masterfully to control visual hierarchy and create effective designs.
- Types of contrast (scale, value, vibrancy, complexity, texture, shape, etc.)
- Become fluent in visual communication and learn how to make engaging, clear and effective compositions.
- Understand how people react to visuals (what grabs their attention and what will motivate them to buy or make a decision).
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 90 / 100
Course Description
Have you ever struggled to decide on what colors to use in your compositions? Have you ever had that dreadful feeling that it’s just not quite right as it is?
Then this comprehensive course on Color & Contrast is exactly what you have been looking for. Whether you're just starting out in graphic design, or already using design software, this course would very likely accelerate all your future progress! Read on to learn why!
Rhonda: "Best By Far! These are the most comprehensible and easy-to-follow courses that I've taken. Best investment in my business so far."
Why learn about Color Theory?
As you already know, Color is the one of most important visual elements of any graphic design project. It conveys emotions and mood before viewers even understand what they are looking at. It is the first impression of your design and a lasting one.
With the clever use of contrast, you will learn how to guide the eye and separate details from one another, adding visual interest to a composition.
My mission with this course
The purpose of this course is to give you the knowledge and confidence on these crucial decisions. To know which combination or harmony would work best, which color should be dominant or how to achieve contrast in your chosen palette? And with the understanding you gain from this course, with all the examples we will go through together, you will be able to make these decisions intuitively and effortlessly to utilize color and contrast at their best!
Zahra: "I love this course. Martin is a great teacher as well as an awesome designer.. he’s really added to my career. He’s always very clear and right to the point.. and his videos are never boring."
By the end of this course you will be able to make important details stand out in your compositions using contrast, and masterful in choosing the most fitting color palettes for your projects.
What will you learn from this course?
Color terms (value, hue, chrome, tint, shade, saturation – what they mean and how they impact your designs?)
Color harmonies (complementary, split complementary, triad, tetradic, analogous, monochromatic, achromatic)
Combining colors (primary, secondary, tertiary, dominant, highlight, accent, etc.)
Perception of colors (social and cultural meanings of colors)
Designing with color blindness in mind
What is the role of contrast in a design?
Types of contrast (scale, value, vibrancy, complexity, texture, shape, etc.)
Relation between key and contrast
Tons of examples
This is a very practical course. We will be analyzing lots of creative work in each lesson to understand and appreciate how color or various forms of contrast are used. You will be able to download these examples and make your own variations.
Vivian: "The course is dynamic, super well structured and Martin is an amazing teacher. Have nothing bad to say about it. So many examples to learn from, I'm super happy and excited that I'm doing this course and feel that in such little time I'm already so much better than when I started."
Trusting me as your Instructor
This new Graphic Design Theory Series (Color & Contrast is the first part) is the essence of my 15+ years of teaching graphic design, and 20+ years of working as a freelance designer at the highest level. I was fortunate to teach more than a 100.000 students worldwide and was voted as one of the 5 best Adobe instructors of the World. Here in Udemy, some of my courses are all time best sellers and are considered the best in their category.
The challenge of teaching Design Theory is that everything is related, and I have a very effective and unique approach to explore this amazing subject in an enjoyable, easy to understand manner, that will help you to build deep understanding in it fast.
Come, join me on this exciting journey, let’s explore the magic of color and contrast in Graphic Design together!
Patrik: "I have Martin's Photoshop and Illustrator training (both excellent), so I had an idea of what to expect with this course. I have long hoped/searched for a solid course on the elements of design, similar to what I learned in university many (many) years ago. This course, Graphic Design Theory, Color & Contrast, is a step in the right direction. It cleared some cobwebs and I learned a few new things as well. I look forward to seeing more chapters added to the Graphic Design Theory catalogue."
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
1,198 Reviews
Martin Perhiniak
Martin is a graphic designer and an Adobe Certified Instructor. He was a presenter at Adobe MAX the ultimate creative in 2018 and was recently voted one of the top 10 Adobe instructors in the world. Over 100,000 students are studying from his online courses from over 200 countries.
As a designer and illustrator he worked for companies like Pixar, BBC, Mattel and as an instructor taught teams at Google, Ben&Jerry's, House of Lords and Oxford University Press.
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Reviews
By Yozan Bi Abel Tresor on 9/29/2025
The course has half of it focused on a tool VAS. I thought it was going to be focused on color theory and enhancement. only the second section was aimed at color theory and even that part was not very practical. Let's say it was VERY theoretical. Like a lecture at a university. The quiz at the end was more a test of theoretical knowledge. In my view a practical use of colors and composition of palettes for different projects would have been way more useful than just theoretical knowledge testing.
By Susan Chater [C] on 5/17/2025
The questions about high and low contrast between two colors were confusing because the saturation and brightness were not specified. For example, red and blue are both strong colors but are not direct opposites on the color wheel.
By Shantè Smit on 4/2/2024
The concepts are explained really well and at just the right level. I work as a digital publisher coordinating the eBook programme at an academic publishing company and have minimal graphic design knowledge. This course has really helped me improve my design eye in just a few hours. I look forward to complete all of these mini courses.
By Maria Victoria David on 10/21/2022
The lectures are great. I was just expecting, instead of a quiz, I could try and compose a design that will apply those lessons learned.
By Julius Modesto on 8/12/2022
It's very comprehensive. Almost all aspects of color theory were discussed in great detail. I'll keep coming back to this course to review and get more in depth with contrast. I love the Milanote! Keep up the great job, Martin!!!
By Kristi H on 6/12/2022
I enjoy courses from this instructor, and this one is no exception. Information is shared in a concise, easy to follow way, and covered more than the standard color wheel basics. I especially liked learning about analysis software, and even if I don't use it, it brought to attention things I can focus on during the process that will strengthen my designs. I think this course has valuable information for artists and designers of all skill levels and backgrounds.
By Patrick Walker on 6/5/2022
I have Martin's Photoshop and Illustrator training (both excellent), so I had an idea of what to expect with this course. I have long hoped/searched for a solid course on the elements of design, similar to what I learned in university many (many) years ago. This course, Graphic Design Theory, Color & Contrast, is a step in the right direction. It cleared some cobwebs and I learned a few new things as well. I look forward to seeing more chapters added to the Graphic Design Theory catalogue.
By Sarah Cura on 6/4/2022
I love this instructor. His information is so practical and very well explained. There's a lot of vital information in this "short" course. I do graphic design and painting and feel these elements are useful for both applications. My only challenge with the course is that he gives a lot of information quickly so sometimes I need to pause the video and absorb the content.
By Ryan Frisby on 5/29/2022
I am a hobbyist designer. I do my design work for fun more than anything. This is a good quick course on some of the science and best practices with color design. Everything is basic enough to be easy to understand. There are some good resources at the end and he also brings of some good designers work to look at.
By Shubham Singh on 5/28/2022
Mentor Martin has yet again proved that nothing in graphic design is complex! The use of AI plugins has blown my mind and thanks to our Mentor for introducing advanced tech to make the tough life of designers less painful!












