Design Principles: 10 Things...

From the research that was done on our group questions, we had to give a presentation on 5 of the questions that we had answered.

We did the questions:

1. How do Colours make us Feel Different Things/ How do Colours Trigger Certain Emotions?
2. Why do People have Favourite Colours?
3. Why do Natural Colours Fade?
4. Is Black a Colour?
5. Which Colours Look Best Together Above All?

After presenting this, we got this feedback from Fred on the questions we presented:

1. Culture and Natural responses to Colour. Nature vs Nurture argument involving Colour. Cultural Signifiers need to be known for Global work.
2. Favourite Colour- Social aspects: what culture aspect started Blue for Boys and Pink for Girls?
3. Colour exposure to lights and Wavelengths.
4. Only way you can ever produce pure black is from a black hole
5. How do you select Colour in regards to Trends and Attracting the Audience- Wallpaper, Wrapping Paper and Gift Wrap. Forecasting colour and the impact of colour. Predicting and Pre-empting Colour and what people like/ don't like.

A different group was posed questions from our group and did these questions:

1. How does light (natural/artificial) affect the perception of colour?
2. How do you make gold and silver?
3. When Contrast of Estention is balanced, is it high or low contrast?
4. Do tertiary colours have Complimentary colours?
5. When Contrast of Estention is balanced, is it high or low contrast?

After they presented their answers, they got this feedback about the questions from Fred:

1. Artificial v Nature Light- Artificial enhances yellows and red (warm colours) whereas Natural Light enhances blues and greens (cold colours). The light source needs to be kept consistent when determining between colours. Artificial light never changes so it would be consistent whereas using natural light always changes.
2. To make gold and silver, use Pantone swatches. Metallics have colour properties but they can't be printed using CMYK-would need to use spot colour
3. When balancing Complimentary colours, you can balance them via Contrast of Estention (but if you have balance problems, you wouldn't use this anyway) but without, there is no contrast as they balance each other out. However, legibility and readability will always be affected when contrast is in use. 
4. Tertiary colours do have complementary colours- All colours have a Secondary but it would be de-saturated as it continues to loose its colour value. 
5. When using Contrast of Estention, more than 1 contrast is happening at once therefore it can be balanced in amount but all the other contrasts would still be at work.

Study Task:

Identify 10 things people need to know about Graphic Design. They can be anything based around Graphic Design, such as Theories, Philosophy, Culture, Principles and Historical.

1. Contrary to Popular Belief,  Complimentary Colours DON'T Compliment Each Other

Complimentary colours are colours that are opposite to each other on the Colour Wheel. As they are opposite, it combines a warm with a cool colour.  Due to this opposition, when they are put next to each other, they appear more intense and brighter. This create a distracting fight for attention when used with each other which can cause the colours to appear as though they physically vibrate, causing a tension that is uncomfortable for the eye to look at,  They usually cause illegibility within text and should only be used as emphasis on a particular word.

"Mystery Book Series" (2012) by Joseph Young

Young, J. (2012) "Mystery Book Series" [Weblog] 17th April The Behance Network Available from http://www.behance.net/gallery/Mystery-Book-Series-Graphic-Design/3674611 (Accessed 8th February 2013)

The colouration for these book covers illustrates my point perfectly as it gives an example of when colour choice goes wrong. The choices of complementary colours have not only made the book covers appear even more tacky but they highlight the poor design choices made when considering the colour scheme as these colours do not even go together tonally. This makes the work seem rushed and unconsidered and, due to the large size of the book covers, this is inescapable.

2. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog

The sentence is a Pangram, which means that it is a sentence that includes every letter of the alphabet. it is important in the world of Graphic Design as this is the sentence that is used to display fonts and its variations as a sample.

Pangram Display of Gill Sans

It is used by Typographers to test letterforms of the alphabet that they have produced and therefore give them a insight into any changes that need to be made in regards to the leading, kerning or tracking as well as how well the letters sit together in a context. It can be used as a practise sentence for learning typing as well as a way of testing typewriters and keyboards.

3. Form Follows Function

The Modernist era of design produced the theory that the function of a design is of the most importance and should come before the visual aesthetic of the product thereby allowing for the aesthetic to be determined by the products purpose. From this came the ideal that any decoration made the product seen insincere and dysfunctional and additional ornamentation looked over-the-top. Soon, Modernists adopted a style that was clean and simple, with minimal aesthetic adornment and a logical structure to layout presentation and organisation.
 

Miscellaneous Concert and Exhibition Posters (1955-1960) by Josef Muller-Brockman

Meister, J. (2013) "A Firm Turn Towards the Objective: Josef Muller- Brockman (1948-1981)" [Weblog] 12th January ilovetypography Available from http://ilovetypography.com/2013/01/12/a-firm-turn-toward-the-objective-josef-muller-brockmann-1948-1981/ (Accessed 8th February 2013)

This is evidenced with the use of a grid layout, giving a structured and precise geometric setting and the favouring of the square and rectangle shapes. The monochromatic colour scheme and using type that is columnised and san serif adds to the simplistic nature of the form.

4. Tone of Voice

Giving a tone of voice to work creates an communication that gives the object personality that the audience can identify with. It needs to be consistent with the visuals produced and reflect the purpose of the content itself. The tone of voice should be reflected within the design choices made based on typefaces, colour schemes, layout and image style so that it is appropriate, authenticating the work and providing a good user experience.

"Speak Up, Make Your Voice Heard" (2011) by Howard LakeMills, R. (2012) "Finding Your Tone of Voice" [Weblog] 21st August Smashing Magazine Available from http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/08/21/finding-tone-voice/ (Accessed 8th February 2013)

It wouldn't be relevant for a professional business corporation to use an informal tone of voice, for example.


5. Print vs Web

There are distinct differences between the two mediums for designers to be aware of. For ease of use, print is normally static media with set standardised sizes whereas web is motion based and dynamic, based on audience interactivity. The main difference however is the physicality of print production whereas for web, it can only be displayed on a computer screen.

"Print vs Web"

Emily (2010) "Print vs Web" [Weblog] 8th February Clickbrand Blog Available from http://www.clickbrand.com/blog/web-design/print-vs-web/ (Accessed 8th February 2013)

For web, image resolution is 72dpi whereas for Print it is 300dpi. In regards to colour, web uses the RGB colour mode whereas CMYK colour mode is used for Print.

6. Pantone Colour Matching

The Pantone Matching System was created by founder Lawrence Herbert in 1963 used to be able to identify specific colour hues which aids communication in the design printing industry by easing the problem of matching colours precisely and accurately by having a single set standardisation system. It started with a single set which has expanded to include both CMYK and RGB modes as well as other sub-sets like metallics and fluorescents. They can be determined by the spot colour as reference and the allocated number given to each colour hue so there is no confusion. (Available from http://kr.pantone.com/popups/aboutus/lhbio.htm (Accessed 9th February 2013)).

"Panto'N'Roll" (2013) Chic & Artistic

Chic & artistic (2013) "Panton'N'Roll" [Internet] Available from http://chic-artistic.com/#pantonroll/ (Accessed 9th February 2013)

These popular-culture inspired slogan posters are fun and modern based on the subject matter. They are relevant as they show the use of the colour in action as well as showing the Pantone colour swatch with the allocated number which demonstrates how they are used in the industry to reference the colour used.

7. Type should be Legible and Readable

For a type to be readable, every letter of the alphabet must be distinctive and be easy to differentiate between every single character. The readability is then aided by the use of paragraphs which have balanced margins and a sufficient line length which is dependant on the font size. The spacing between letterforms come into play in regards to their relationship and the size is generally medium in weight. For legibility, it is usually seen that body copy on coloured backgrounds or using coloured text prevents a text from being legible as it puts a strain on the eye of the reader (Garfield, S. (2011) "Just My Type" 2nd ed., London: Profile Books).

Farley, J. (2010) "Typography: Readability and Legibility (Part 1)"[Internet] Available from http://www.sitepoint.com/typography-readability-and-legibility-part-1/ (Accessed 9th February 2013)

As shown via the example, the choice of font determines the readability and legibility of the body copy thus making it either available and accessible to any audience or completely separating itself from the audience. It can also determine the tone of voice of the text and the characteristics give an impression of the subject matter.

8. Fibonacci Sequence

The Fibonacci Sequence is visually represented within design as a spiral that aids the proportion of a layout to produce work that is visually appealing to the eye. This is composed by rationalising the amount of space available on a page and creating a sense of order and understanding amongst the content of the page. This allows for a specified system that can be used for determining not just the page but other layout aspects. This means that it can be applied to every aspect of the design by extending it to the details thereby creating a balanced rhythm and visual harmony.

"Fibonacci Sequence" 

Johnson, R. (2010) "How To Design Using The Fibonacci Sequence" [Weblog] 12th October Design Strategy Available from http://3.7designs.co/blog/2010/10/how-to-design-using-the-fibonacci-sequence/ (Accessed 9th February 2013)

The numbers used within the proportions are the numbers within the mathematical sequence where the previous numbers add together to make the next one. This is what makes the formula work so well in regards to equal proportions as the numbers have equal spacing separating them.

9. RGB vs CMYK

RGB and CMYK, also known as Additive and Subjective Colour, are both part of the realm of colour theory and are produced differently from each other.

"A Diagram on Additive and Subtractive Colours"

M Graphix "Trading Spaces- RGB vs CMYK" [Internet] Available from http://www.m-graphix.com/trading-spaces-rgb-vs-cmyk/ (Accessed 9th February 2013)

RGB is for on-screen colour as it is colour made from light which allows work to be seen clearly by digital means. CMYK is used for colour inks in printers therefore is used for printing work. They should not be used the other way around as it will effect the quality of the colours that are produced in these formats, particularly when it comes to print as they do not share the same gamut so it will not come out the same as on the screen if not converted.

10. The Invention of the Printing Press

Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440's, the purpose of the Print Press was to produce a mechanical, automoton way of reproducing amounts of text by creating re-usable movable type. You could produce a page of text by assembling the text backwards, put it into a chase and printing copious amounts of pages before re-assembling the type to produce the next page. The terms 'Uppercase' and 'Lowercase' come from the position of the movable type draws with the lower levels holding the more commonly used letters and the capitals above.

"Cast Type Engraving" (1568)

Garfield, S. (2011) "Just My Type" 2nd ed., London: Profile Books

From this reference, you can see how the type would be arranged by compositors to put it in the right order and backwards so it would print correctly before being given to the printers who would cast it and print it continuously.

Preparatory Task:

For the next session, we need to have a collection of 5 magazine publications that differ in style and audiences. They need to range in quality of content and print and include some genres that interest you and what you appreciate.

The 5 magazines that I ended up collecting include;

• Very Low Quality Rhubarb Bomb! Magazine (Underground Music Fan-zine)
• Low Quality TV Choice Magazine (I watch a lot of television) 
• Low Quality New! Magazine (Has a strong Female target audience)
• Higher Quality GQ Magazine (Differs in style to others chosen and has a strong Male Target Audience)
• High Quality MOJO Magazine (I like Music Genre Magazines)  

5 Preparatory Magazine Choices

This way, I have a wide ranging choice of magazines with different audiences, interests and genres that can be dissected.