Comments on: Product Managers & The Secret Of The Color Wheel

By: Product Managers Need To Decode The Secret “Color Language”

Product Managers Need To Decode The Secret “Color Language” — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:40:11 +0000

[...] sometimes it has to do with the images that we use in a product brochure. The problem, is that most of us have ever had any training in this whole color thing. What are the colors that we are using telling our [...]

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:30:53 +0000

Ginger: all good points. Knowing how to use a color wheel won’t save a bad presentation! I agree with you in that product managers should start off by taking it easy and then build up to more complex color selections. Crawl, walk, run!

By: Ginger

Ginger — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:04:52 +0000

I agree with many of the comments left here.
1. If the colors are blindingly obnoxious, it will be hard to move the audience past that and into the content. So, yes, content is important to engage the reader, however, when a super bright neon yellow is used around the frame of your subject, it is not likely to get the reader to read the content.

2. A color wheel is a color wheel. If the basic presenter doesn’t know how to make a presentation reasonably interesting visually, it is probably better to start with a basic color wheel until the new habit is formed. Then, a more complex wheel is easier to accept and grasp. I know some PowerPoint users who are incredibly adept at putting a presentation together with content, effects and other equally impressive advanced features, so it is not a matter of intelligence. It is a matter of learning a new skill and understanding that the audience can absorb so much more when basic concepts of color and visual attraction are followed. Simply put, some things are easy on the eyes, which allows the audience to study it longer instead of being repelled by it.

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:22:05 +0000

Well now, a color wheel is a color wheel — they are all pretty much the same. What’s important is getting the main point — certain colors go together and others don’t. Just take a look around you the next time you get together with a bunch of product managers and see how they dress — maybe we should all have a color wheel of some sort in our closets…!

By: Dr. hopkinsgurg

Dr. hopkinsgurg — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:02:02 +0000

that color wheel chart is stupid. there are so many ones better than that

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:37:36 +0000

Greebs: you are 100% correct. I’ll try to make up for my (once again) spelling error by including a link that all can follow to find out why I think Edward is a fantastic information presentation expert (the NYT called him “the da Vinci of Data”):

Edward Tufte’s Web Site: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/
Wikipedia Entry For Edward Tufte: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Tufte

By: greebs

greebs — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:27:01 +0000

Your hero’s name is actually Edward Tufte, something to probably get right if he is indeed your hero.

By: Victor Velasquez

Victor Velasquez — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:57:40 +0000

It is nice to read tips for presentations! Color is definitely one thing to consider.
But what about engaging the audience more to your presentation. Make them pay more attention and help them take notes?
Here is an article about a simple but effective technique:

http://www.nearsoft.com/ns/blog/The-Fill-In-the-Blank-Presentation-Technique.html