The ability to tint black-and-white photographs with color has been a staple of photography for decades, and modern image editors make warming and cooling grayscale images a snap. This concept of a steady progression of shades can be used to present information as well.
Photoshop’s Curves has long been associated with making images brighter or darker. But few people know that it can also change color with greater degrees of control than the Hue/Saturation or Color Balance controls. From slight selection changes to creating great duotones, Curves is a powerful tool to master… if you’re willing to practice.
In searching for interesting patterns, designers sometimes pass over basic shapes in favor of more complex geometrics. But simpler is often better. The trick is to pay attention more to how shapes interact than to how a shape looks on its own. The concepts are simple, but the choices are endless.