Interaction of Color

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Josef Albers book, “Interaction of Color” is about how humans perceive color. Albers concludes that color deceives us. No one can truly identify a specific hue of a color. In fact he says that people, in general, only have a vocabulary of about 30 different colors.

For example, he says if fifty people were asked to imagine the color red, every one of those people would imagine a different shade of red based on past experience. If people were asked to identify the red used for the Coca-Cola sign, most likely no one would get the same result as another person. We simply cannot remember exactly what hue or shade of red the Coca-Cola sign is.

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Albers also explains that our optically senses deceive us. He does numerous tests and exercises to show this. For example, he demonstrates that when the same color is place in the middle of two different colors it appears to be different. This illusion is because of the surrounding colors. Colors appear to be different when placed next to different colors.

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Therefore, the designer must be careful when creating a color scheme for a design. Each viewer will have a different perception of the color so choosing color is important.

"Sustainable Innovation" A Lecture By Nathan Shedroff

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Nathan Shedroff’s guest lecture in Design 1 at UC Davis was about design sustainability. He started his lecture off with stating the main components or content of design, which include experience, meaning, systems, and services. Together business, sustainability, and design itself work to form what we called design today.

As Shedroff continued his lecture he began focus more on sustainable design. He asked three questions.

What does a more sustainable world look like?
What is a more meaningful world look like?
What’s a post-consumer world look like?

His answer to these questions was that “we don’t know the answers.” He even went on to conclude that there is no such thing as sustainable design and that nothing is completely sustainable. However, when we are discussing sustainable design the content includes a financial, social, and ecological aspect. Each of these categories is formed by principles, frameworks, tools, and strategies. He talked about sustainability has only now become a new obstacle or constraint to the design world. For designers Shedroff thinks it is important to share with businesses the importance of sustainability in a language they can understand.

One of Shedroff’s main points of advice to designers was “don’t design things today that make tomorrow worse (…for your kids).” Design with a purpose or meaning is also important.

"Objectified"

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The film “Objectified” discusses design as it is in our society today. Many designers explain what they think about design, what design is, and how it has progressed.

One designer quoted that “Every object tells a story, if you know how to read it.” This is can be quite true. We often overlook the design of a product. For example, the shape of an object may be designed the way it is for a specific purpose; to provide comfort. Therefore, design is a way of making our society aesthetically pleasing and providing more convenience in our everyday lives without us even noticing.

The designers in this film also discuss how objects are made in mass production creating a mass communication to society and the world. This also leads to the discussion of the human mindset. As humans we are constantly looking for the newest product, we want the best and we want it now. Since we think this way it is the job of the designer is to continue creating, by looking at form and concept, to please the society they work in. However, one man that was interviewed in the film explained that he thought we should focus on the old things we have, because new things don’t last forever. He concluded that most people probably care more about the old things they possess because they have a special significance.

The last major topic in this film was creating sustainable design. Today, the job of the designer is much more challenging. No only does a designer need to focus on creating something new and practical, he or she also needs to make their product friendly to the environment. Landfills are growing and it is important that designers create products that prevent them from growing even more.

Therefore, designers have a very different job that they did a couple decades ago. Designers must focus on the “now” and the future, the practical and the aesthetically pleasing, and the environmental friendly. Design is a complex process that we overlook almost everyday.

Design is More than What We See...

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Design takes time. A designer always needs to begin the creative process when thinking about a new idea. A designer needs to be patient and ready to make changes to fit the clients and audiences desires. Therefore, almost all designs we observe in our daily life had to go through many different stages or drafts before it was considered finished.

The design process has three steps; thinking, looking, and doing.

The first step is “thinking” about the design. This includes brainstorming ideas, considering constraints given by the client, the clients and audiences desires, and budget. The designer must consider all these things before actually beginning to create the design.

The second step is “looking” at other designs. This is considered the research part of the creative process. Designers observe other designs already produced and gather information and inspiration for their production.

The third step is “doing.” This is the step that the designer takes to create the final product. This step involves prototyping the design. The designer must make many drafts or tests that eventually result in the finished product. The designer may use thumbnails, sketches, and drafts until he/she is satisfied. This step is also important for the designer’s client. The design must have many different options in case the client isn’t pleased with the first idea.

Therefore, design is more than the final product we see; it is a long and well planned process. Design is about the process and the finished product.

Color Craze

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Design often consists of color. The world we see everyday is filled with color. Color makes what we view more interesting. Designers almost always use color in design. However, some designs are in black and white. The use of color definitely depends on the artist’s preference. For example, the expressionists loved color but Leonardo da Vinci thought color was an enemy to art. Therefore, color in design all depends on the artists’ choice.

Many designers utilize color to create unity, variety, balance, and to attract the viewer to the design. Color can be found on the color wheel. Artists and designers use warm and cool colors, primary, secondary, tertiary, and complementary colors.

Colors are originally found in nature but now have expanded and are found all throughout society today. Artists have found ways to make colors “pop” out at us or cause emotion. By placing red and green together it is pleasing to the eye because the colors balance each other; as well as yellow with purple and orange with blue. By placing red, orange, and yellow together we get the feeling of warmth and happiness; while blue, green, and purple cause a feeling of coolness and sometimes sadness. By using different tints of color an artist can create depth and unity.

Therefore, color is a strong element in design. It can cause a design to have many different qualities. It can draw the viewer closer or it can push them away. Color is powerful and that is why it is used so widely in society today.

Billboards

When you drive down the street, billboards always seem to jump out and catch our attention. Billboards are supposed to catch are attention, obviously. Therefore, the design of billboards is very important.

Billboards are put in places that will purposely attract people. Most can be found alongside roads and in larger cities. Drivers and passengers in cars are looking out the window most of the time anyways so billboards definitely give them something to look at. However, the challenge for the designer of the advertisement is to make the viewer want to look at the billboard and want to support what is advertised.

Some ways that a designer will make a billboard visually appealing is the use of color, scale, and proportion. A lot of the time an advertisement will include bright colors to catch the attention of viewer. For example, reds and yellows seem to pop out against the blue sky. Another design element a designer might utilize is scale/ proportion. When something is unusually big or even unusually small it draws our attention. Humans are automatically attracted to things that are not “normal.” Therefore, using scale and proportion can be a big advantage for a billboard designer.

Overall, billboards contribute largely to our society. They help promote businesses, products, and ideas through art and design.