Instructor
Global swatches make color edits easy and let you create lighter versions of colors, called tints. See how to make them.
What you'll need
This sample file is an Adobe Stock asset you can use to practice what you learn in this tutorial. If you want to use the sample file beyond this tutorial, you can purchase a license on Adobe Stock. Check out the ReadMe file in the folder for the terms that apply to your use of this sample file.
What you learned
Why you need global colors
After saving a global color and applying it to objects in your design, you can edit the global swatch later, and it will update the color everywhere it’s used. This makes color changes fast and painless, leaving more time for creative exploration.
Make a global color
When you make and save a new color in the Swatches panel, it’s automatically saved as a global swatch — look for the white triangle outline around the swatch that identifies it.
Create lighter versions of a global color
Once you save a global swatch, you can create tints or lighter versions for greater tonal variety in your designs. This lets you extend your color palette without introducing a different color. You can also save the tints conveniently as swatches!
Tints update automatically
An advantage of using tints is that when you edit the original global color, all the tints you generated also update, saving you time.
Up next: Create freeform gradients
