Seeing Color

The Language of Color Recap

In the Language of Color video presented in class, all things pertaining to the color wheel were expressed.  Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors, and no other colors can be made without these colors. Hue, saturation and value are presented as the most important things to think about when dealing with color. Hue is the color, saturation is how bright or muted the color is and value is how light or dark the color is. Without value there is no color. Another important item that was discussed was calibrating under consistent lighting, as a laptop and a desktop monitor show color differently. There are professional calibration tools that can be purchased to assist with this. Additionally, RGB, CMYK and Spot Color are elaborated on. RGB stands for red, green and blue, and this is used primarily for designs made for the web (light-based for on screen use). CMYK stands for cyan, yellow, magenta and black, and is used for designs meant for print. Spot Colors, on the other hand, are pre-mixed colors of ink as seen in the swatch menus in programs such as InDesign and Illustrator. Lastly, the video advocates the use of the right color. The right color will be good for the target audience, it will represent the client’s product, and it will be original (it won’t be a color used by a competitor).

Michael Bierut Recap

In his discussion on how to think like a designer, Michael Bierut presents his audience with a number of ways to solve design problems. His first example showed how poor design can be problematic. In the election between George Bush and Al Gore, for instance, many people ended up voting for the wrong candidate due to the poor layout of the ballot.  Bierut advocates that graphic design is important in all aspects of our lives. His examples range from the fashion industry, churches, signs on big glass buildings, museum branding, transportation signage and the development of an under resourced neighborhood library. Bierut presents the idea that you need to achieve what the client is looking for while at the same time achieving something new. He also stresses the importance of coming up with multiple options for a single design and keeping the target audience in mind.  As seen with his library project, Bierut shows how design can make lives better. When the librarian turned out the lights she expressed that the last light she turned off was the light that shone on the mural of the children. This design of the children reminded her why she went to work every day.

Interactions of Color

Color Wheel

Marian Bantjes Recap

Marian Bantjes is a Canadian designer, illustrator and typographer who uses a more personal approach to graphic design that is led by her heart and her ego. Although Bantjes spent 20 years as a corporate designer behind a computer, she decided to split from that path and create her own. Bantjes resists the idea of going on “auto pilot” and demonstrates that design can be specific to one person. It is very clear that Bantjes is dedicated to her designs. The Valentines that she created for a list of over 100 were all unique to each person that received one. Not only does this project show Bantjes’ creative talent, but also reveals that her motive is enjoyment rather than making money. Bantjes is a designer that is constantly looking to create something new. She enjoys pattern making because it makes you think outside of the box, like trying to solve a puzzle. It is inspiring to see a designer like Bantjes because she promotes the idea that graphic design does not need to be simple to get the point across.

Typographic Texture

Physical Texture

Scale, Depth & Motion

Come/Go

Full/Empty

Inside/Outside

More/Less

Climb/Fall 

Show/Hide

Build/Break

Run/Walk

Give/Take