If you have been following my "Design Tips for Amateurs" series, you should now be able to successfully tackle type and finagle your photos. In the next article of the series you'll attune yourself to the tiny details, but first we have just one more major component to undertake - color.

There are many uses for color. It attracts and engages an audience, offers continuity, and helps people form an association with something else (red, white, and blue, anyone?) So why is it so darn hard sometimes to come up with a color scheme for your marketing piece? The answer - because you are probably going about it the wrong way.

Ever watch those decorating shows? Take Trading Spaces for instance. You oft hear the designers refer to an "inspiration piece", such as a pillow, or other patterned object from which they derive the color of the paint, fabric, and artwork. Well, apply the same technique to your marketing materials, and you can hardly go wrong (notice I said "hardly").

So if you are stumped, here are three "inspiration pieces" that could lend to your color scheme.

1. Your Logo. It's supposed to be on everything you create anyway, so you couldn't clash by using shades of your logo colors for background and text.

1. Photos. Use colors found in pictures you have placed in your piece for a harmonious look. A Photoshop tip: Use the eye dropper to match the colors in your photo exactly.

1. Previous marketing pieces. Remember I mentioned continuity? If you used one color scheme for your brochure, use the same scheme for a postcard. You'll thank yourself later when you don't have to give someone a stack of mismatched promotional materials.

There are just a few more things to think about before your color scheme is set in stone:

1. Some color combinations will immediately conjure an association with something else. If you're mainly using red and green, people will think it's Christmas year-round at your company. Red, white, and blue represents you as patriotic. If you use purple and gold, customers might think you went to LSU. Just something to think about.

1. What look are you going for and for whom? If you're trying for hip and contemporary, use white as your neutral. Save the beige or cream for something more elegant. Pastel colors scream "BABY!", while primary colors are for children. Spring-ish colors like chartreuse and fuchsia say "women only", and retro colors are for teens. If you can't grasp who you appear to be targeting by your color scheme, look to marketing pieces from larger companies for clues.

1. Finally - a one or two-color piece can look just as good as four-color (and save you some money too!). The trick is to play with different shades of the color you are using to create a depth that you can't get otherwise. Take your basic black and white brochure for example (I know, it's boring). Instead of just black text on a white background, mix it up. Use shades of gray to highlight a side bar. Invert an information box and use white text on a black background (which really pops out by the way.) There's no rule that says a printed piece has to cost a fortune to look good.

I hope these tips prevent choosing and using colors from driving you or your marketing material off the deep end. All you need is a little know-how and inspiration.