If you’ve been following along with my new series of beginner InDesign tutorials, you’ll love this next one! It’s time to get colorful! If you are new around here, I’ve been teaching a series of beginner InDesign tutorials on YouTube! Here’s a roundup of some of the other beginner InDesign tutorials we’ve been covering:
This week we’re reviewing how to apply color to objects and text in InDesign.
Watch the tutorial below for a beginner run-through of applying color to objects and text in InDesign. Or keep reading for the notes from the video tutorial, if you’re a read-to-learn type. And if you’re the YouTube-type, click here to subscribe to my channel for more beginner design tutorials and tips!
Add color to objects or text in two ways
Fill – just like it sounds, fills in the whole shape or text with a color.
Stroke – the outline around the shape or text.
Change colors in a few different places
When your object or text frame is selected - you can change the fill or stroke color in a few different places: up in the top toolbar, in the bottom left toolbar, in the Swatches flyout menu, or in the Color flyout menu. Swatches is easiest and my go-to place.
Change the fill color in InDesign
To change the fill color, select your object first, then click on the fill color thumbnail to bring it to the front to make it active as you're making color changes. Then select what you’re wanting to apply the color to on the two icons next to the thumbnail – the square applies your color to the frame or object, the T applies your color to the text only, a shortcut to toggle between these two icons is the letter J on your keyboard, then select a swatch to apply that color.
Change the stroke color in InDesign
To change the stroke color, select your object first, then click on the stroke color thumbnail to bring it to the front to make it active as you're making color changes. Then select what you’re wanting to apply the color to on the two icons next to the thumbnail – the square applies your color to the frame or object, the T applies your color to the text only, a shortcut to toggle between these two icons is the letter J on your keyboard, then select a swatch to apply that color.
Adjust the width of the stroke in InDesign
To adjust the thickness of the stroke, first select your object, then select which icon you’re applying the formatting to (frame or text), then you can customize the stroke in two places – up in the top toolbar – change the weight or change the style, OR in the Stroke flyout menu (if you’re not seeing it, Window > Stroke), change the weight and style again, plus several other ways to customize it. All of these stroke settings also work on a single line.
Apply color to the selected letters or words
For text, if you want to only apply color to selected letters or words, double click inside your frame to edit your text, select just the letters or words you want to change, look up here to make sure the right thumbnail is active (fill or stroke), then select your color swatch to apply it.
To swap the stroke + fill colors
And lastly, if you want flip flop the stroke + fill colors, click the curved arrow next to the color thumbnails and the fill + stroke will swap places.
Choosing a color palette
Finally, if you’re intimidated by even choosing what colors to use in the first place, I have a few resources for you! This blog post talks about my methods for choosing a cohesive color palette, even if you don’t consider yourself a creative. I give you several unconventional ways of going about, most of them are fool-proof! Additionally, I highly recommend this set of Pantone postcards. I have a set myself, and I use them all the time to create a color palette with something tactile. It’s so nice to be able to switch out colors quickly with other cards, and see where the palette takes me.
Free Beginner InDesign Workshop
If you want more Adobe InDesign training, watch my free workshop where I breakdown the most popular design apps + programs and show you when it’s best to use each one (pssst – you can do way more with InDesign than you probably realize), PLUS I walk through exactly how to design a PDF worksheet and promo graphic from start to finish using Adobe InDesign. Drop in your name + email here and I’ll send it to you right away!
