Grid Exercise 1: Bose_2page.indd 1 2011/04/18 10:06 AM
Grid Exercise 2: Bose_2page.indd 2 2011/04/18 10:06 AM
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Debrief for 2 page layout: For this two page design layout I spent most of my time trying to figure out what document I was going to use and what style it would be. Originally I was going for a childlike short story. After many sketches I realized it was not the look I wanted to execute and if I wanted to incorporate my out style of designing I wouldn t be able to do it. I then looked into articles about design principles. I decided on a rather popular one even though I was skeptical do to it s length being too much to fit on 2 pages. I started with designing how I wanted to title to look and went from there. I wanted to go for a simple, sheik, contemporary look. I wanted to use more white space around the layout but there was too much text. I also wanted to make the pages square but the text length also prevented me from doing so. I was skeptical about not being able to do much with the design with so much text but I m happy with the results. I think the title area on the top of the first page balances out well with the design at the bottom of the second page. The entire thing was executed in indesign, which is not something I m used to doing. I originally made the title in illustrator being that I m more comfortable with it but I realized I could execute it in indesign with the rest of the document. Going through and justifying the text was extremely time consuming but I really like the way that justified text looks. Bose_2page.indd 12
COLOR DO S & DON TS DO TAKE TIME TO LEARN ABOUT THE COLOUR WHEEL. All colours are made up of three PRIMARIES: red, blue and yellow. When you combine the primaries, you get the three SECONDARY COLOURS: orange, purple and green. When you combine each secondary colour with its neighboring primary, you get six TERTIARY COLOURS: which are yellow-orange, yellowgreen, blue-green, blue-purple, red-purple, red-orange. That s how you get the familiar 12-colour wheel. Every colour has a TEMPERATURE: from the red/yellow side of the spectrum it s warm, and from the blue/purple side it s cool. It has an INTENSITYthat s described as SATURATION or chroma. Saturation is determined by how much or how little grey a colour contains. High intensity colours are pure, bright and vivid. Less saturated colours are muted, soft and subdued. Every colour has a VALUE, determined by its lightness or darkness. When planning a colour combination, value and saturation are as important as the HUE DON T MISSUNDERSTAND THE BASIC COLOUR WHEEL RULES. Most colours look great when combined with the shades in various values or intensities. These colour schemes are called MONOCHROMATIC, which consist of colours drawn from the same hue. neighbors. Any three neighboring colours on a 12 part colour wheel make up an ANALOGOUS colour scheme. They are always harmonious as they share the same undertones: yellow-green, yellow and yellow-orange. To add a bit more impact to the analogous group, you can expand it with another neighboring color, e.g. orange. that s how you get COMPLEMENTARY colours: they are the opposite hues on the colour wheel, that complete each other when used as a pair. Warm colours have cool complements and vice versa. I found this handy Flash application that visually explains the colour wheel in an easy to follow style. There s also a helpful HP colour wheelthat showcases different colour schemes. Harmonious colour combination reinforce the impact and recognition, help in establishing powerful identities and brand Today we ll examine the DOs and DON Ts in designing with colour. DO ANALYSE COLOUR UNDERTONES. If you like blue but want a subtle effect, choose a white or grey with a blue undertone. A red-orange terracotta pot has a yellow tone to it, hence those colours will blend harmoniously with each other. On the other hand, don t emphasize an undesired undertone by pairing it with its complement: if the shade of brown has a pink undertone to it, combining it with green (the complement of red) will only intensify the problem. DON T NEGLECT THE FACT THAT COLOURS CHANGE ACCORDING TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS. A large rectangle and a narrow line (or type) of the same colour will seem to have different values when placed against a white background: the colour in the line will look darker than it does in the rectangle, because it s surrounded by much brighter white space. When two shades of the same colour, one dark and one light, are paired with each other, the darker shade will look darker and the lighter shade will appear to be lighter: Outlining a colour in a darker shade will enhance the enclosed colour, helping to keep a colour from spreading into surrounding areas. On the other hand, a lighter outline will cause a colour to spread to adjacent colours. C DO EXPLORE A COLOUR AND IT S PSYCHOLOGY. While perceptions of color are rather subjective, and have different meanings in various cultures, some colours affect us in a similar way. The human eye sees warm colours before cool hues. Cool colours appear to recede, while warm colours appear to advance, however the degree of saturation can make a difference RED With its aggressive, stimulating and sexy nature, assertive attention and provoking action, the red is impossible to ignore. PINK Depending on its saturation or value, pink evokes varied mood swings. Magenta and fuchsia are perceived as sensual and theatrical. But waterdown the red in lighter pinks and the raw sensuality of red is replaced with gentle romanticism. ORANGE Inheriting some of the drama of red, orange is tempered by the friendly humour of yellow. It s the colour that stimulates the appetite and radiates with warmth and vitality YELLOW Yellow and black is the most unignorable colour combination in nature tigers, stinging bees it s the colour that says: you d better pay attention to me. BROWN Rustic, durable, wholesome and deliciously rich are just some of the traits of the colour that s often associated with earth and home, substance and stability. BLUE Ever noticed how many corporations and financial institutions use blue in their brands? That s because blue is seen as dependable and committed. It is also the colour we often associate with calm and serenity. Darken the blue and you ll add an instant authority, credibility and power to it. GREEN Because of its association with nature and foliage, green in design can be used almost like a neutral colour: greens never clash with red or PURPLE It s perhaps the most enigmatic and complex colour, with the range of meanings from royal to elegant to spiritual to mysterious. Purple is often favoured by very creative and eccentric people who are not afraid of appearing daring. : Not surprisingly white communicates purity, sense of clarity and simplicity. White is also perceived by the human eye as a bright colour, that s why it works so well in contrast with all other colours. BLACK People see black as the most dramatic, heavy, powerful, classic colour with an up-scale look. Because of its extreme contrast to white, black and white is the quintessential combination of depth and clarity, power and innocence. D N T D DON T CCCOLOR BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT WITH COLOUR COMBINATIONS. Sometimes even the forbidden combinations work. Check out various online colour tools and applications that will help you to chose the right colour combination for your projects. Mac users can install numerous handy colour widget for the Dashboard: Adobe Kuler, Color Theory, ColorSchemer, ColorBurn. DO EXAMINE OTHER SITES AND DESIGNS.In one of the upcoming weeks, I ll be featuring sites that were designed with the excellent knowledge and sense of colour. Meanwhile, browse numerous CSS galleries, bookmark the sites with attractive colour schemes, thumb through the pages of various design magazines, books, not just the ones for graphic designers, but also architectural and interiour design publications, where you will be inspired by the innovative and fabulous colour combinations! DON T FORGET ABOUT READABILITY WHEN COMBINING COLOUR WITH TYPE. It s true that we mainly deal with the black type on white paper/page background, and that a black text on a light background is the easiest to read. Pay attention to the relative values and saturation of colours when a background colour interacts with coloured type. The contrast between type and background diminishes when their values move closer to each other, and the type becomes less legible. The contrast between the type colour and the background colour must be considerable to ensure that the type remains visible. RRR Bose_2page.indd 13