Day 23: Value First

Value — how light or dark a colour is — matters more than hue. Two very different colours with the same value will blur together, especially in a photo or for someone with low vision. Designing in greyscale first ensures your hierarchy works, and colour then becomes a second layer of meaning rather than a crutch.

Objective. Understand that value structure drives legibility and hierarchy.

Design a poster for a night-time cycling event in greyscale. Then convert it to colour while keeping the same values.

• Start with greyscale only
• The colour version must keep each area’s original value
• Maximum four colours in the final version

• A clear value structure in greyscale
• The colour version preserves that structure
• Strong legibility in both versions

Make a third version with completely different hues but identical values.