OK....I'll try to talk you through what I did:
IMAGE 1:
If you open the settings.ini file and scroll down just a bit you see where the custom settings are, and the colors and fonts are just a little bit down. You add whatever color codes you like using the format: $'name your color'$='image code'
You can find HTML image code charts in many sites like this one:
http://htmlcolorcodes.org/
IMAGE 2:
You can see here where I changed the colors by simply changing the $____$ names in the circles. I also tweaked the fonts just a bit. I think I just made the read (in and outgoing) 10p and left the unread at 12p to further differentiate them.
Is that a good description, or do you need any more info? I know it gets confusing, but if you need any gaps in the description filled in, please feel free to ask!!!