Colour Theory

End of Module Self Evaluation

1) What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Throughout this module I have developed my skills in computer aided design, especially on Adobe Illustrator as at the beginning of the course I was completely clueless about it.  Having these new skills has enabled me to create designs which previously I would never have been able to do, there is still plenty of room for improvement but I think with more practice it will begin to have a positive effect on my designs.  I also feel that since the start of the module I have gained more confidence in speaking in front of a group, the way the crits make you get involved have certainly helped me.

2) What approaches to/methods of idea generation have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I have started to do more and more design idea's, putting more thought into the idea's and getting the imagery in my head down on paper whereas before I was bad for just doing one or two designs in my sketchbook but making them look pretty, so when it actually came to designing the final piece I would have a very limited choice.  I still need to persevere with this however.

3) What strenghts can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

The imagery I use for my work is something I see as being a strength for me, I struggle more when it comes to using type as I'm not an avid typography fan.  This is also something that has been pointed out in crits.

4) What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

A weakness in my work is typography when put into the context of a poster/leaflet.  To address this I think I just need to experiment more with different typefaces when developing work.  Another weakness is the quality of prints.  I need to start getting my work finished with more time before the deadlines so that I can get a print slot for the better quality printers.

5) Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

• At the beginning of briefs I need to be more open-minded and work hard on initial ideas, put in more research in the beginning also to inform my work.
• Carry on more than one idea to Computer Aided Design to see which actually works best to get the best outcome.
• Work on my typography skills to increase impact of the text in my designs and generally make designs more eye-catching and interesting.
• I now know that I need to blog things as I do them so that I don't forget about things.  This is a much less stressful way of keeping up to date with the blog aspect of the course.
• As we have print inductions coming up I would also like to experiment with screen print throughout the next module.  

How would you grade yourself on the following areas?

Attendance = 5

Punctuality = 2

Motivation = 4

Commitment = 4

Quantity of work produced = 2

Quality of work produced = 2

Contribution to the group = 3

(5= excellent 4=very good 3=good 2=average 1=poor)

Colour Theory

Photographs:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/69972933@N03/sets/72157628036420875/show/

The images that are linked above are a visual explanation proving that when colours are placed next to/ on top of other colours they can appear to be a different colour.  

Additive Colour Movie:

Mailing List and Mailshots

Feedback from Crit:

• Overall execution of the design could have been carried out better.
• Placement of the design on the inside of the leaflet was slightly off and this needs to be addressed.
• Colour of card perhaps too dark.
• The red colour was perceived to be brown.

For this design I have increased the opacity of the red from 33% to 75% so it is more bold.  I have chosen a lighter grey colour.  Previously I printed on grey card but if I were to print again, I'd probably print grey ink onto white stock.  

Final Design for Proverbally Yours Poster

Alphabet Soup// Illustrator Brief

Illustrator Task so far.  All the lettering is traced and I'm now beginning to edit it to become my own type face.  

Cyan 75% to be printed on white stock.

ALPHABET SOUP//WORKSHOP - ILLUSTRATOR

Making a start on the illustrator task.  This is the letterform I originally chose but I plan to go back and look over the others that I created to make a better/more legible overall typeface.  For the type face below I also did not base it on an existing font like the brief states, this gives it a warped look and it isn't structured enough.

Experimenting with other designs that I created.  This design is 100% magenta.  

Experimenting with CMYK

Accident..

In the progress of trying to design a heading for my blog, this happened, but I think it looks pretty cool.

Colour Theory Lesson 1

As a class we all contributed one item for each of the six colours.

In our small groups we all were allocated a colour from the colour wheel (ours was light to dark violet) on either sides we had light blue on the left and a light pink-violet on the right.

We then had to break our coloured objects down into categories of tints, shades, hues and pick out the strongest, purest violet to be put in the middle.

We then matched up the coloured objects with the pantone booklets and copied down the codes.  

Above is an example of a pantone book.

Using pantone is important when working in commercial print, as print jobs can be expensive you don't want them to go wrong.  Pantone is recognised nationally and therefore if you send the colour codes to the industry printers you should not be disappointed that your chosen colours are not the same.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT PANTONE COLORS?

Pantone colors are called "spot colors." That means they are a special blend of colors drawn from a palette of fourteen base colors. Pantone provides a perfect "recipe" for each and every color, enabling printers to duplicate a colour exactly.  http://www.logodesignteam.com/logo-design-pantone-color.html

Geeky Graphics Accessory:

Colour Wheel:

Additive and Subtractive Colour:

Color Systems

Available color systems are dependent on the medium with which a designer is working. When painting, an artist has a variety of paints to choose from, and mixed colors are achieved through the subtractive color method. When a designer is utilizing the computer to generate digital media, colors are achieved with the additive color method.

Subtractive Color. When we mix colors using paint, or through the printing process, we are using the subtractive color method. Subtractive color mixing means that one begins with white and ends with black; as one adds color, the result gets darker and tends to black.

The CMYK color system is the color system used for printing.

Those colors used in painting—an example of the subtractive color method.

Additive Color. If we are working on a computer, the colors we see on the screen are created with light using the additive color method. Additive color mixing begins with black and ends with white; as more color is added, the result is lighter and tends to white.

The RGB colors are light primaries and colors are created with light.

Percentages of red, green, & blue light are used to generate color on a computer screen.

Working With Systems

The Visible spectrum consists of billions of colors, a monitor can display millions, a high quality printer is only capable of producing thousands, and older computer systems may be limited to 216 cross-platform colors.

Reproducing color can be problematic with regard to printed, digital media, because what we see is not what is possible to get. Although a monitor may be able to display 'true color' (16,000,000 colors), millions of these colors are outside of the spectrum available to printers. Since digital designs are generated using the RGB color system, colors used in those designs must be part of the CMYK spectrum or they will not be reproduced with proper color rendering. Working within the CMYK color system, or choosing colors from Pantone© palettes insures proper color rendering.