Chapter 3

Contrast…

Objectives• Appreciate the importance of the principle of contrast.

• Understand the effect of contrast in a design.

• Learn key contrast techniques.

What is Contrast?• Contrast occurs when two or more visual elements on a page look dramatically different from one another.

Why Use Contrast? (1 of 2)• The principle of contrast is an easy and effective way to draw attention to a page.

• Applying contrast techniques to a page visually enhances it.

Why Use Contrast? (2 of 2)• Contrast combined with emphasis and alignment organizes and cleans up a page.

• The page on the left lacks contrast.

• Contrast is added to the page on the right by changing some of the squares to circles.

Contrast Techniques (1 of 4)• Some ways to achieve strong contrast include placing:

- Small elements with big elements- Warm colors with cool colors- Decorative type with sans serif type- Thin with thick elements- Solid areas with textured elements

Contrast Techniques (2 of 4)

• This contrast example uses small type with a large initial letter, warm vs. cool colors, and decorative type with a sans serif type.

Contrast Techniques (4 of 4)

• Texture placed next to solid letterforms adds visual interest.

Contrast Techniques (3 of 4)• Thin letterforms contrast with thick letterforms.

Contrast Example (1 of 3)• The copy for this flyer design lacks both emphasis and contrast.

Contrast Example (2 of 3)• Applying the principle of emphasis to the copy makes it much easier to pick out the important information, but the page still is boring.

Contrast Example (3 of 3)

• Pages often benefit from strong contrast.

- This page contrasts big type with small type, big image with small image, playful typeface with a sans serif typeface

- Use of emphasis and contrast organizes the page.

Nameplate – the area, usually at the top of the front page of a newsletter, which contains the newsletter’s name in decorative type

An ordinary nameplate design from a newsletter that uses one typeface

Contrast Techniques Used: big type against small type; serif type against nonserif type, ALL CAPS, gray type against white type

Chapter Summary• Don’t be afraid of contrast

• Using strong contrast draws attention to a page and organizes it.

• Designs with little contrast lack variety and are often visually boring.

organization nameplate contrastcolor size1. Pages where everything is the same size, typeface, and color

lack ___________, and look bland and boring.

2. Adding contrast to a page can dramatically improve the ___________ of the page.

3. A newsletter’s ____________ design contains the newsletter’s name in decorative type and is usually placed at the top or run along the side of the front page.

4. You can use different types of contrast: texture contrast, _______ contrast, ________ contrast, weight contrast, and even typeface contrast to improve your pages.

EXERCISE #1Redesign the list on the right using the principle of contrast. Improve the organization of this list by applying the principle of contrast to the subheads.

• Make some of the type bigger.

• Make some of the type bolder.

• Draw rule lines under category head type.

• Add color.• Place some type in

boxes.