Fill, line colour and transparency in Publish

Colour is often what makes a page look finished, and most of it comes not from pictures but from simple fills and lines. In Publish by Zaweba, shapes and frames take a fill colour and a line colour, and both can be given transparency.

That short list covers a surprising amount of design: coloured backgrounds for text, borders around photos, highlight bands, see-through panels over pictures, and fine rules between sections.

Fills: the colour inside

A fill colours the inside of a shape or a frame. Give a text box a pale fill and it becomes a panel, which is the standard way to make a box of key details stand out on a flyer, or a sidebar look separate from the main story in a newsletter. A strong fill on a rectangle at the top of the page makes a masthead band.

Keep text readable. Dark text on a pale fill, or white text on a dark fill, is easy to read. Mid tones with mid tone text are where trouble starts, especially when printed, which often makes colours a little darker than they look on screen.

Lines: the edge

The line is the outline of a shape or frame. A thin line in a dark or accent colour gives a photo a clean border, or turns a text box into a framed panel. On certificates and menus a fine line around the content can give a classic, finished look.

Sometimes no line at all is right. A coloured panel with no outline looks modern and calm; adding an outline can make it look boxed in. Try both and see which suits the page.

Transparency

Transparency lets what is underneath show through a fill or a line. Its most useful job is the overlay: a semi transparent dark band across the bottom of a photo, with white text on it. The photo still shows, and the text is readable because the band calms the busy area beneath it. It is the look of a lot of posters and magazine covers, and it takes a moment to build.

Transparency also softens colours. A strong accent colour at partial transparency over white gives a pale tint of the same colour, which keeps a set of panels in the same family as your headings without being as loud.

Watch out for stacking. A transparent shape over another transparent shape creates a third, darker colour where they overlap. That can look deliberate, but it can also look like a mistake, so check overlaps when you move things around.

Working with document colours

Instead of picking a new colour for every shape, use colours from the document palette. Named document colours update everywhere they are used, so if the committee decides the club green should be a bit darker, one change updates every band, panel and line that uses it. Colour schemes restyle through the same document colours, so a publication built this way can be tried in a different scheme in moments.

Pairing with other effects

Fills can also be two-colour gradients at any angle, and shapes, frames and pictures can have drop shadows. A flat fill with a fine line is the calmest look; a gentle gradient adds depth to a banner; a shadow lifts a panel off the page. Use one of those at a time on any given element and the page stays tidy.

Fills and lines are simple, but they are where most of a page's colour comes from. In Publish by Zaweba a few panels, bands and borders in two or three document colours are often all the decoration a publication needs.