TUTORIAL: How to use ASE color swatches

I received a question from a Stationery Boot Camp student last week that I thought I would answer with a video tutorial. The question is regarding the free color swatches I post on here every Monday, so I thought it would be appropriate to share this 4 minute video tutorial where I show you how to use the free weekly color file downloads, also known as the Monday Hues, and provide a brief explanation of why I created this weekly series color inspiration series.

Question: Regarding are the Monday hues: are those swatches not available in the software...is that why you have to upload them?

Answer: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator do come loaded with swatches - tons of them actually! However, there are times when selecting from a huge palette can be be overwhelming and mixing your own colors can be very time consuming. Please watch the 4 minute video below to learn more. 

NOTE: If the quality of the video is too low, click on the green link right under the video, it'll take you to Vimeo where you'll be able to see it at a higher resolution. Thanks!

How to use the ASE color files, Tutorial from dioperez on Vimeo.

If, for example, you are working on a wedding stationery set in Adobe Illustrator, it would be wise to create your own ASE color file containing the PMS colors used in your collection. You can then load your color file into InDesign to access the spot colors when creating the matching menus, wedding programs, envelope wrap-around labels, etc.

If you found this tutorial useful, please leave a note in the comments below and share with your friends - thanks!