Quicklinks to all course lessons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Lesson 2 sections: 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-6 2-7 2-8 2-9 2-JFF 2-IDEA
Lesson 2 sections: 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-6 2-7 2-8 2-9 2-JFF 2-IDEA
A02-07: Review a principle of design: Contrast
Objective:
- Understand how to use contrast in our designs to capture attention and lead the eye.
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Learn:
Contrast is an important principle in graphic design. Contrast draws your attention to differences in your image. Some elements you could use for contrast are value (light and dark), hue (color), texture, shapes, line, focus, space, size, etc. You can also contrast ideas, by placing greatly differing ideas next to one another. You can use contrast effectively to focus attention on the important message you're trying to send with your image. For example, in the photo at right we have a contrast between the light values of the building, and the dark value of the umbrellas. But it is also a contrast in ideas - that incongruity of having a sea of opened umbrellas inside a building also attracts our attention. |
This resumé uses contrast effectively to draw your attention to it.
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Contrasting values and the contrast of using an outdoor umbrella inside a building.
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In Robin Williams' book, "The Non-Designer's Design Book," she says this of contrast: "Contrast on a page draws our eyes to it; our eyes like contrast. If you are putting two elements on the page that are not the same (such as two typefaces or two line widths), they cannot be similar - for contrast to be effective, the two elements must be very different."
"The basic purpose of contrast is two-fold, and both purposes are inextricable from each other. One purpose is to create an interest on the page - if a page is interesting to look at, it is more likely to be read. The other is to aid in the organization of the information. A reader should be able to instantly understand the way the information is organized, the logical flow from one item to another. The contrasting elements should never serve to confuse the reader or to create a focus that is not supposed to be a focus." Have a look at some images I found on Pinterest.com below that show examples of contrast - contrast in color, value, size, and even contrast between what we expect/and what we get. Back in the 1920's, Johannes Itten - a German art and design instructor, came up with a list of contrasts to help his students "experience them with their senses, objectivize them intellectually, and realize them synthetically." At right is Itten's contrasts. They give you an idea of some of the contrasts artists and designers use, and that you can use in your designs. As you view the images, pay attention to where your eyes are drawn to first. I am guessing it will be the area of greatest contrast. |
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