Design Principles - Studio Brief 1 - Research

The Fundamentals of Graphic Design - Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris

Graphic design takes text, images, ideas and concepts and presents them in a visually engaging form. This can be through print, electronic or another media. It applies order and structure to content so that it can facilitate the communication process, while making the message to the viewer clear in a way that is understandable. To achieve this, designers must manipulate certain elements; a design may be philosophical, emotional, aesthetic or political in nature.

'A valuable part of the graphic design process is the final resolve, look and feel (aesthetic qualities) of the project. Aesthetic control is more far-reaching than selecting sizes and colours as it brings order to a project, and aids communication and understanding.'

• text and image are the mainstays of graphic design and their arrangement on a page, screen or in the built environmnet is one of the ways through which people communicate in the modern world.
• different design elements must compliment each other in order to enhance the overall communication.
• A narrative is constructed using text and image to create meanings, which can be achieved in many different ways through the use of metaphors, symbolism and other devices.
• Design responds to the changing themes that govern the way we view the world and this is evident in movements such as Modernism, Postmodernism and Deconstructivism.

Josef Albers - Interaction of Colour

In visible perception colour is never really seen as it really is - as it physically is.

This fact makes colour the most relative medium in art 

In order to use colour effectively it is necessary to recognise that colour deceives continually.

To this end, the beginning is not a study of colour systems.

It has been seen that colour differences are caused by two factors: by hue and by light, and in most cases by both at the same time.

Information for booklet:
Josef Albers was a highly influential figure among 20th century artist when it came to the exploration and practical application of colour. His career has been praised by many because of his views about colour and the methods he applied to his practice. These methods were seen as radical and brave at the time, but became increasingly inspiring to a generation of people, as he showed them the real ‘magic of colour’. As influential as Josef Albers was, he was also criticized by others for his alternative views to scientific theories about colour. As part of the introduction to Interaction of Color he says, “In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is — as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.” This approach to his study is what ‘opened up the eyes’ of new creatives and cast a new light on ways of looking at the world. As Josef Albers taught several art students at Yale University, he brought with him several ideologies. This included the key elements: shape, colour, line and texture, which he believed are what makes a person, truly an artist. Another belief of Albers was the theory of restricting to the use of 4 colours, primarily: blue, green, red and black. This was because he believed that using these colours was the basis of creating all other colours in the spectrum, and furthermore experimenting with these colours was a way of ‘opening new worlds’. By pushing the boundaries of colour theories, Albers has become known most for his colour palettes and how colours within palettes work together. For example, he believed choosing contrasting colours works better than combining shades of one colour.

International Klein Blue

The artist Yves Klein, from France created International Klein Blue and registered the colour as a trademark in 1957. He created this colour pigment in collaboration with Parisian paint supplier, Edouard Adam, at his shop in Montparnasse. The colour itself is a deep and intense shade of blue, which has been used extensively throughout his career. In 1958, Klein used this colour as the focus point for his work. One example of this would be the series of monochromatic works, which involved performance art, where Klein had models painted in International Klein Blue. He then had the models walk across canvases and roll around on them to see the effect of the colour.

Klein started making monochromes from 1947 onwards, believing that the ideas of ‘representation in painting ’ were rejected when making monochromes. Many of his more present pieces of work show how he painted finer surfaces and kept them uniform in texture. Whereas, before they were uneven in texture, creating a less noticeable use of the colour.

Klein considered IKB to share qualities with ‘pure space’ and associated the colour with things that cannot be touched or seen. He would demonstrate the visual qualities of this colour in his canvas paintings. To do this he would stretch the canvas or cotton over a wooden board that had been treated with casein. Then he would apply industrial paint, similar to gouache, mixed with highly volatile fixatives. The end result of this would show the surface of the paintings to appear as though they were hovering above the surface, almost velvet like.

Pantone / RGB / CMYK

Pantone Inc. is a corporation known best for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a standardized colour reproduction system. Unlike CMYK, Pantone colours are generally used for stationary and logo designs. It is used in this way to ensure companies are using the correct colours for marketing their brand. By referring to the different numbered colours by Pantone, we are able to distinguish the differences in colour shades and furthermore choose appropriate colours for a context. Commonly used Pantone colours are in the solid palette, which consists of 1,114 different colours. Through using this system of numbering each colour, companies can send one another precise information regarding the exact colours that they would like included in a design.

The difference between RGB and CMYK is that one is widely used for digital colour while the other is used for printing colour. RGB (red, green and blue) is a coloured light given off from computer monitors and is used in this way because it allows us to see millions of different colours. On the other hand, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) is derived from the traditional way of printing colour and is generally considered the default way of colour printing today. This is because absorption and reflection of wavelengths are what printing deals with, and ultimately what we perceive as colour (CMYK).

Use of colour in graphic design

In graphic design, the use of colour is very subjective. This is due to how different individuals view the world around them and their interpretation and application of colour. What may seem relevant to one person may be seen completely different to someone else. Therefore, one thing to consider when using colour in graphic design is how it will be interpreted by others, and whether you think the colours being used will be appropriate for the context. When studying each colour, we can agree that there are shared meanings for each one. However, how we interpret that colour will depend on the context in which it is placed. For example, the colour red can be used in a variety of contexts as it has different meanings, such as love, lust, danger, importance, fire and many more. Therefore, when using the colour red we must make sure that the context in which it is placed suits the intented meaning.

When looking at the different shades of red we can see the versatility of the colour. For example, the darker shades can communicate seriousness and power, making it appropriate for a news website for instance. We can see that this is true because BBC News uses this colour scheme throughout their communications. In addition to this, there are several colours that have shared meanings with other colours. For example, the colour orange can represent fire or moderate danger, but it can also be associated with the fruit of the same name, giving it a meaning for health and vitality.

On the other end of the colour spectrum to the warm colours are the ‘cool colours’, which are generally used to communicate a sense of relaxation, calmness and quietness. The cool colours include, blue, green and purple which can be used as visuals for water, nighttime and nature or growth. Blue, being the only primary in the cool part of the colour spectrum, mixes with warm colours to create the other two warm colours. Green can be seen as safety, nature, stability and harmony, when used in a certain context. However, it can also be seen as jealousy or envy in a different context. Having shared attributes with blue, green can also communicate similar ideas, only with more energy and vibrancy as it contains hints of yellow.

As well as the colours we often take notice of, there are also the neutral backdrop colours, black and white, which have there own meanings too. White can be perceived as a pure, clean and simple colour. In the west it is often used as the traditional colour to use for a brides wedding dress and has associations with the health system such as dentistry and doctors. Black on the other hand, can be perceived as powerful, elegant and formal as well as having associations with mystery and death. In design these two colours can mix with any other colour and still communicate the same intentions, while adding simplicity and characteristics to the work, making them useful tools in graphic design.