Color Theory October 24, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 7 - Color Theory, Classes , comments closed Logo design recap. more examples of recently updated logosColor Theory based on the color wheel and identification of primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
Use of the color wheel in design: [ppt]
Analogous colors are colors that are adjacent on the color wheel.
examples:
gorilla glue
Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel
example: University of Florida
Monochromatic color schemes use only the tints and shades of one color. If you mix white with a pure color you produce tints of that color. If you mix black with a pure color, you get shades of that color.
example: Microsoft Money
Color Triads use any three colors that form a triangulation on the color wheel example New Victory print piece or example: ProPublica
examples of color theory in art
Hue – the color we describe, pure color. Color reflected from or transmitted through an object. It is measured as a location on the standard color wheel, expressed as a degree between 0° and 360°. In common use, hue is identified by the name of the color, such as red, orange, or green.
Value or Brightness – how much light. Relative lightness or darkness of the color, usually measured as a percentage from 0% (black) to 100% (white).
Intensity, tint or saturation – how much color. Strength or purity of the color (sometimes called chroma). Saturation represents the amount of gray in proportion to the hue, measured as a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100% (fully saturated). On the standard color wheel, saturation increases from the center to the edge. To change the saturation of a color, add the compliment color.
Demonstration of how to manipulate these properties in Photoshop and other programs.
Motion graphics of Mark Coleran: reel | stills
Everything about color has to do with relationships
Color resources:
Colourlovers
Designing for the color impaired
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ASSIGNMENT
take the color IQ test
Read: color basic do’s and don’ts
Make two different compositions:
1. a composition that is an optical illusion using the same color blocks but having them appear to be different because of its color juxtaposition. ( simple example) or (complex example)
2. Make a second composition working using one constant variable of hue, saturation or brightness and changing either one or both of the other variables. (simple example) or (complex example)
Logo Design October 7, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 5 - Logo Design, Classes , comments closed Review of business card designs.Jon Stewart’s take on the Olympic logo
A look at the London Olympic logo
Successful logos are:
- Distinctive
- Memorable
- Appropriate
- Practical
- Successful logos are usually clever
Logos can be:
- Typography
- Type and a mark
- Just a mark
A few favorite and classic logos: PPT presentation
Case studies:
Shell
Designed by Raymond Loewy
Fed Ex History
The original Federal Express corporate logo was designed by Richard Runyan in 1973. The new FedEx logo is one of the most recognizable logos due to the company’s presence all over the world. The logo was created in 1994 by Lindon Leader, as Senior Design Director at Landor Associates, San Francisco. The same year it was ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the 8 best logos of the past thirty-five years. Along side Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, IBM, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Playboy. FedEx is a syllabic abbreviation of the company’s original name: Federal Express. At first glance the FedEx corporate logo appears to be plain and simple, however there is a detail that once seen changes the perception about it: a right-pointing arrow located in the negative space between the E and x. While the arrow becomes quite obvious when pointed out, most people do not observe it. The arrow symbolizes forward movement and thinking.
Google
interview with the designer, Ruth Kedar
- The colors evoke memories of child play, but deftly stray from the color wheel strictures so as to hint to the inherent element of serendipity creeping into any search results page
- The chosen typeface is based on Catull, an old style serif typeface. Catull borrows elements from traditional writing instruments such as the quill and the chisel with a modern twist. Search, by nature, is an activity that requires we look into the past. Therefore Catull’s historical ties seemed appropriate, as did the bridging between the old analog world and the new emerging digital era.
- This design managed to break with the existing conventions landing Google with the unique visual expression it was looking for.
The best campaign buttons of 2008
excellent blog on logo design: logolog
interesting resource for logos inspired mathematically
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ASSIGNMENT
Read: Paul Rand on logo design
Review: Iconic logo designers, and Logo Design History and come to class prepared to talk about a favorite designer and present their work.
Typography and Layout October 4, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 4 - Typography and Layout, Classes , comments closed Playful use of type: Bembo’s ZooImpact with type: Girl Effect/Nike
Review of last week’s assignment: name in six fonts and expressive words.
15 characteristics to look at
Recap of typography terminology
Type with Meaning
Obama versus McCain font NPR interview
Type decisions include Font
- Font choice
Avoid overuse. There are a few fonts that are used so much they have lost their distinctiveness.
Font Confessional
The point is used to measure the size of a font. One point is equal to 1/72 of an inch. When a character is referred to as 12pt, the full height of the text block, and not just the character itself, is being described. Because of this, two typefaces at the same point size may appear as different sizes, based on the position of the character in the block and how much of the block the character fills. Type is measured in Points. A document is set in 12pt type on 15 pt leading. means that it is a 12 point font, with 15 points between the baselines of two successive lines. Thus there are 3 points of additional space between lines. As a general rule of thumb leading should be about 120% greater than character font size.
For center-justify, avoid rivers and crowding
- Leading
- Bad example Philly.com
- Kerning: Space between letters
- Line length: While there is no hard and fast rule, 39 to 75 characters are considered ideal.
(the above line is 72 characters)
The width of a line is normally from 45 to 75 characters. Anything more, and it’s hard to read a line at a time. This is why magazines and newspapers tend to use multiple columns.
• Special treatments such as lead letter
The most readable fonts in print are straight-forward serif faces. These include fonts such as Times New Roman, New Century Schoolbook, and Palatino. Most displays have so little resolution that serifs don’t come out well. Many people believe sans serif fonts work better online. A look at some interesting choices of type, layout and kerning [ppt]
A look at some clever layouts of famous quotations. Note the use of the techniques of color, layout, type variation to reinforce the message.
These are from Designing with Type originally created by James Craig (ppt)
Pitfalls:
- Inappropriate font choices
- Too many fonts in a composition
- Mixing justification formats: bad alignment | cleaned up
- Density on the page
- Rivers of white space or edge issues
- Bad hyphenations
- Over use of !! and italic
- Proper spacing is critical. This includes spacing of all kinds: the space between lines, between words, and within words
- Avoid overuse. There are a few fonts that are used so much they have lost their distinctiveness. Font Confessional
- The movie font
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BUSINESS CARDS
Business cards incorporate typography, color, layout and sometimes logo We will review the design of business cards and attempt to design our own as an exercise in applying many of the visual communication skills we have covered.
Business card design:
Standard size is 3.5″ x 2″
- A successful card will help others know and remember you. Ideally it should convey a sense of who you are, what you do, or your interests
- Card must be legible
Choices to make:
- Typeface to use. stick with one, two at most and use the variations of weight available to you. Use weight and size to establish a hierarchy. The most important item should be either larger, bolder, in a distinctive color or set off by more white space – or some combination. Things that are related logically should be related visually.
- Logo or no logo
- Color
- Format: center justify, left justify, right justify, full justify
- Punctuation: for phone numbers option are dashes and parenthesis or periods or just space
Sample business card design discussion
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ASSIGNMENT
Produce a business card for yourself. Post a digital copy to your blog but also bring 16 actual size cards to distribute to the class. size is 3.5″ x 2″ and please use both sides of the card.