CDFI Consumer Marketing Toolkit

This resource is made available to you by Opportunity Finance Network. Don’t forget to stop back and check out the rest of our CDFI Consumer Marketing Library resources.

How to Change the Fill Color of an Object Using Your Default Word Color Palette:

1. Select the object that you want to change by clicking on the object. If the object or shape is grouped with other elements, double click on the object to select, or ungroup the elements to be able to select the object.
2. Once object is selected, on the Format tab, click the arrow to Shape Fill, and click the color that you want from the default color palette.
   
   

Match a Color from Your Logo or Image:

Need a color that is not shown in the default color palette? Word allows you to create your own mix of colors using numerical values of either RGB (a mix of Red, Green, Blue) or HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness), which are color systems for on-screen use.

If you are looking to match the colors in the design with your CDFI’s branded PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors, you will need to determine the RGB equivalents, wherever you need those colors to appear.

For example, the blue color that appears in Opportunity Finance Network’s logo is Pantone 541C. The RGB equivalent is R: 0, G: 70, B: 127.

To determine the numerical RGB values of the custom colors you want to use in your design, there are many resources on the internet that you can use to match up to your Pantone colors.  One useful online resource is https://en.labelpartners.com/pantone_coated_table.html. 

Once you have determined the RGB values of the colors you want to use in the design, use these instructions below to change the colors of the objects desired.

1. Select the object that you want to change by clicking on the object. If the object or shape is grouped with other elements, double click on the object to select, or ungroup the elements to be able to select the object.
2. Once object is selected, on the Format tab, click the arrow to Shape Fill, and then
   More Fill Colors.
3. In the Colors dialog window, on the Custom tab, make sure the color model listed is RGB. Then input the numerical RGB color value, and click OK.
   
   Your new custom RGB color will now also appear in the Recent Colors palette, alongside the default color palette (Format > Shape Fill > Recent Colors).