Styling & Effects

Styling and effects help you make your designs look professional and eye-catching. IDEQO’s design editor includes tools for colors, filters, and opacity that work across all design elements.

Fill Color

Fill color is the main color of shapes and the text color for text elements. Change it to match your brand or create visual interest.

Changing Fill Color

1. Select an object (shape or text)
2. Click Fill in the left sidebar (or use the toolbar)
3. Choose a color:
   • Quick Colors - Click a color from the palette
   • Custom Color - Use the color picker to choose any color
   • Transparent - Make the fill transparent (shows checkerboard pattern)

Using Fill Color

• Shapes - Fill color fills the inside of shapes
• Text - Fill color changes the text color
• Multiple objects - Select multiple objects to change all at once

💡 Tip

Select an object first before changing fill color. The color picker shows the current fill color so you know what you’re changing.

Stroke (Borders)

Stroke adds borders or outlines to shapes. You can control both the color and width of the stroke.

Adding a Stroke

1. Select a shape (stroke doesn’t work on text)
2. Click Stroke in the left sidebar
3. Set stroke width:
   • Use the slider (0-20px)
   • Click quick values (0px, 1px, 2px, 4px, 8px, 12px)
   • Set to 0px for no stroke
4. Choose stroke color:
   • Quick Colors - Click from the palette
   • Custom Color - Use the color picker
   • Transparent - No stroke

Stroke Tips

• 0px width - Removes the stroke completely
• Thin strokes (1-2px) - Subtle borders
• Thick strokes (8-12px) - Bold, graphic borders
• Color contrast - Use contrasting colors for visibility

ℹ️ Note

Stroke only works on shapes, not text. To change text color, use the Fill tool instead.

Opacity

Opacity controls how transparent or opaque an object is. Lower opacity makes objects see-through, higher opacity makes them solid.

Changing Opacity

1. Select an object
2. Click Opacity in the left sidebar
3. Adjust opacity:
   • Use the slider (0% to 100%)
   • Click quick values (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)

Opacity Values

• 0% - Fully transparent (invisible)
• 25% - Very transparent
• 50% - Semi-transparent
• 75% - Mostly opaque
• 100% - Fully opaque (solid)

Using Opacity

• Layering - Lower opacity lets you see objects behind
• Overlays - Create overlay effects on images
• Watermarks - Add subtle watermarks
• Blending - Blend colors and effects

💡 Tip

Opacity works on all objects. You can create interesting effects by layering objects with different opacities.

Filters

Filters add visual effects to images. They can change the mood, style, or look of your images.

Applying Filters

1. Select an image
2. Click Filter in the left sidebar
3. Choose a filter category:
   • Basic - Greyscale, sepia, black & white, invert
   • Vintage - Polaroid, Kodachrome, brownie, vintage, technicolor
   • Adjustments - Brightness, contrast, saturation, vibrance, gamma
   • Effects - Blur, sharpen, emboss, pixelate
   • Color - Hue rotate, blend color, remove color
4. Click a filter to apply it

Removing Filters

Click Remove Filter to reset the image to its original state.

Filter Tips

• Try different filters - Experiment to find the best look
• Combine with opacity - Lower opacity can soften filter effects
• Select image first - Filters only work on images
• Remove to reset - Use “Remove Filter” to undo

⚠️ Warning

Filters only work on images, not shapes or text. Select an image first before applying filters.

Color Tools

Quick Colors Palette

The quick colors palette provides common colors:

• Primary colors (red, blue, green, etc.)
• Neutral colors (black, white, gray)
• Transparent option

Custom Color Picker

For exact colors:

1. Click the color picker
2. Choose a color visually
3. Or enter a hex code, RGB value, or color name

Combining Effects

You can combine multiple effects for unique looks:

Example: Vintage Photo Effect

1. Add an image
2. Apply a Vintage filter
3. Lower Opacity to 80%
4. Add a shape with low opacity as an overlay

Example: Modern Graphic

1. Create a shape
2. Set Fill Color to your brand color
3. Add a Stroke with contrasting color
4. Set Opacity to 90%

Example: Text Overlay

1. Add an image
2. Apply a filter (optional)
3. Add text with high opacity
4. Add a semi-transparent shape behind text for readability

Layering Objects

You can change the order of objects to determine which ones appear on top of others.

1. Select an object
2. Use the toolbar buttons at the top:
   • Bring Forward (Arrow Up) - Move the object up one layer
   • Send Backward (Arrow Down) - Move the object down one layer

💡 Tip

Layering is especially useful when using opacity or background shapes behind text.

Best Practices

Color Harmony

• Use brand colors - Keep designs consistent with your brand
• Limit color palette - Too many colors can look chaotic
• Contrast for readability - Make sure text is readable on backgrounds

Opacity Usage

• Don’t overuse - Too much transparency can look unprofessional
• Layer strategically - Use opacity to create depth
• Test readability - Make sure text remains readable

Filter Application

• Subtle is better - Light filters often look more professional
• Match content - Choose filters that match your content’s mood
• Consistency - Use similar filters across related designs

Troubleshooting

Colors Not Changing

• Make sure an object is selected
• Check that you’re using the right tool (Fill vs Stroke)
• Try selecting the object again

Filters Not Working

• Filters only work on images
• Make sure you’ve selected an image, not a shape
• Try removing and reapplying the filter

Opacity Not Visible

• Check that opacity isn’t set to 0%
• Make sure there are objects behind to see through
• Try increasing opacity

What’s Next?

Now that you understand styling and effects:

• Learn about Design Editor Overview - More editor tips
• Explore Saving & Exporting - Save your styled designs
• Check out individual tool guides - Templates, Images, Text, Shapes

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Need help? Contact support or check out our other design editor guides.