OUGD404 Design Principles: Colour Theory

Systematic colour (part one) - An introduction to colour theory.

willard c brinton - 'Graphic Presentation' (1939)

Systematic Colour : Colour Principles
Josef Albers
Johannes Itten

RGB - red, green, blue
CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black)

Colour Theory: Fiction?

penguin books

Green / mint green / blue tint = crime
white / black / red = intelligent book


Fiction genres to relate two colours -

Western

724C

470C

1945 C

156 C

Romance

193 C

1905 C

2577 C

551 C

Sci Fi

281 C

7481 C

623 C

Black 4 C

Crime

Rubin Red C

Black 2

OUGD403 - Drawing the detectives

Guardian's Agatha Christie book design Competition -

The Agatha Christie book I have to redesign the cover for was 'Mrs Mcginty's Dead' a crime novel based around her famous detective Hercule Poirot. This was a competition from the news paper 'The Guardian' which had no restrictions to what could or couldn't be included in the design. 

I began by looking at previous covers for 'Mrs Mcginty's dead' and what was included on these, type, colour and image used. All of the covers used have type as a focus point, they are clear and straight to the point, otherwise they would not sell well as they would be unrecognisable. All of these covers can be related to crime or death through use of imagery and colour, using blood reds and dark colours to emphasise the genre of the novel.  The type changes under every publication but all keep to a menacing or crime style of type, also the imagery is always different to the other, the most successful of the ones above I feel are the more simpler versions with type and just a subtle image to go with it.

I looked at the plot of the story and picked out key things in the book which are significant such as:

• News paper clipping
• Ink
• Sugar Hammer
• blood
• News paper articles
• cleaning
• old
• moustache

With this information I can try choose the type, colours and imagery, I want to make a simple relevant cover for the book.

I looked at different types I could use, hoping to find some which would work as a stand out type that represented the genre. I went through the types I had at my disposal to begin with and found these which I thought would work.

Having looked at these types I decided to then look at colours before I began experimenting further, I considered elements from the book and also the previous book covers which would influence my colours.

The First colour is a Off white which is to represent the news paper clipping which is referenced within the book, it plays a key role throughout the story. News papers of the time would be printed on off white paper. The red is to represent blood drops which represents the murder, the most significant murder of the book, where Mrs Mcginty is murdered using a sugar hammer which would cause blood splatter. The black is to represent the pot of Ink, which is another key object within the novel, it is a key clue to the investigation and has also been a cover image in some other of the cover designs which I have looked at.

I wanted to create some small symbol imagery to represent ink spat/drop and blood splat or drops. I didnt want an over bearing image to take over my cover design I started with the splat symbol on Illustrator. This gave the ink splat and blood splat form which, when applied with the correct colour, could represent ink and blood.

With the type I began with 2 of the types I looked at which were Din Condensed and Helvetica, I wanted to start with simpe striking types to see if they could work, I made the kerning on these types tighter to create a stronger form. I Used Helvetica Light and Helvetica Bold which when used in this context gave different feels.

I attempted the book title with these types but chose to attempt this in blood red to differentiate from the Authors name which would be black and a big focus point. 

I then put all these elements together to start forming some designs. 

In these designs I went for a simpler hand rendered symbol, which was small circular shapes formed to represent the blood splatter and Ink drops.

I continued to experiment with the type changing layout and the type itself, still using the same colours and symbols but trying to develop these designs further to get the correct feel.

I narrowed my choices down to these selections which I felt strongest. Having gotten feedback through social media the choices were cut down again to the bottom left and top right down which were said to be strongest and most effective.

Personally I feel the bottom left is strongest, the layout of the symbols keeps the type clear and the layout of the type is strong and successful this is the piece I will submit to the competition.

Entry on the Guardian

Colour Lecture study task (27/10/2015)

My least favourite colour is bright green, I cannot use it in work as I feel its so tacky and when I see it used I think it is garish and off putting, I immediately feel that what ever is on this bright green poster will not interest me or appeal to me. I've attempted to use it in my work before but never been successful in my attempts. The pantone of the colour I mean is pantone 7488 C, I will attempt to find colours which will work with my chosen least favourite colour and then try to use these colours, including black, to redesign a children's book cover.

Covers to Possibly work my new colours into through redesign:

• Miffy is crying
• Imaginary friend book
• I am a doodle cat
• Abit lost
• Hungry catterpillar

Logotype Evaluation

My intention was to create a logotype which would represent HMV's ethics, history and the products sold, I also wanted to reach out to an alienated market of music lovers, having looked at the companies current set out and its sales figures I found it was committing more store space and money on gadgets, DVD's and merchandise whilst its highest selling products for the past year have been records and CD's. I wanted to create something that is current and trendy yet also pays homage to the companies rich history. Using the research I had found in study tasks such as the Logo design for Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and the group rebranding task, I understood rebranding, having looked at both successful rebrands and ones which had failed so bad that they reverted to there old ones almost immediately. I decided to rebrand HMV because having seen it struggle financially over the years and going into liquidation, narrowly avoiding extinction and now starting to make profit from a new business strategy, I felt it had lost way of its original ethos and idea, of supplying music and entertainment.

I looked at a range of popular music stores around leeds, there are no longer many high street stores like HMV all have lost there way financially and become extinct, while HMV has just narrowly survived this trend with music stores. I found there were many independent music stores around leeds, when I visited these stores I found them to always be popular, busy and always be refered to as record stores, whilst selling CDs and music gig tickets the main product of sale were records, each store holding a variation of classic musicians and bands LPs to brand new up and coming bands LPs and CDs. A couple of these stores sold merchandise with there own branding on and the independent logo was a popular one with youths and record collectors alike. This research really informed me of current popularity in music store styles and was a main contribution to how I designed my logotype.

All aspects of my designs were considered and researched in depth, firstly considering the colours and typeface which I would use. I considered a range of typefaces to use, I needed a relevant and enticing type which would work well on a range of platforms, from online sites to a high street signage. Through experimenting and feedback I decided to use Futura as the type for my various final outcomes, Futura was a successful choice as I gained positive feedback from my peers but also I found this type the most visually pleasing when it was in situ of my logo form. I used the colours from the current logo type whilst also using an off white colour which was used in an old logo of HMV's, the feedback I received on this was positive, my peers liked the choice to use the well known black and pink combination of the current logo, this meant that there is still an element of high street recognisability which HMV has found in recent years.

For the form and layout of my type I research a lot on records and LP design, looking at the arrangement of type and the kerning of the words. The designs I created were influenced by this research and they represented what I wanted the store to represent, which was music. I felt myself going too far with the symbols I used with my logotype, they sort of took over and this is an aspect which I would change as I felt that it did not keep to the brief, though visually pleasing I feel I looked too much into incorporating shapes to help my design and did not let the type stand for its self.

I asked myself a number of questions to evaluate my own work, these were;

- Do you think the type used is appropriate and works well?
- Is the feel and style of the logo and signage conveyed? Is it interpreted easily?
- Does the idea behind the work, considering type, layout and colour, work?
- Have I gone too retro with the look? Can this design work in the modern age?

I think that the type I have used, Futura, reflects the retro style of my idea and also the companies history, when it started opening high street stores is a similar time this type came out. Its sleek design works well, even though giving a retro feel keeps a sense of modern times which I feel is successful. I think the retro feel of the logo is successfully conveyed and can be interpreted yet I feel this is only through the shapes and symbols, and not the type alone, this is something I feel which makes the design weaker. I think all the aspects consist with my idea of retro and they also all work together as a group through the layout of the type, its main points are clear and legible and so are the second points. I feel that the information I have gathered gave me a clear idea of todays popular design styles and the design can work in this age, as I found people like retro feels, the nostalgic style is very popular and I feel it is a design which could stand the test of time.

I also put these questions to my peers in my final feedback and got a similar response, they agreed with me on most things and also mentioned the over use of shapes, this was helpful to me because I knew my successes and my failures within this brief and knew what I would change, given the chance. Overall I had a positive response to my logotype and have many aspects of it which have been very successful, I think I have very informed research and influenced design ideas, which all flows to my final pieces of work, I have followed the criteria and successfully met my brief with a visually pleasing outcome.

Feedback Friday - 23/10/2015

Final Feedback- 

I presented my developed design ideas on my mac along with 4 questions I wanted answering about my work, so I knew my downfalls for the future. My rationale is that I wanted to create a new logotype which represented a new age of retro music design that has been popular for a number of years and continues to grow in popularity. I considered the company history and looked at old store logos, branding and shop fronts, I also looked at the companies competitors past and present, which lead me to look into retro music stores and the design behind them, which influenced me within my response to the brief. I also looked at music venues and posters which are a huge part of the music industry, I looked at the relationship between all of these factors to design a new logotype for HMV.


The questions I put towards my peers in regards to my work were:

• Do you think the type I have chosen to use is appropriate and works well with the colours and layout I have chosen?
• Is the style of the Logotype conveyed? Can it be interpreted?
• Does the colour and layout I have used work with the concept behind the work?
• Is the logo type and layout I have designed look to retro, can it work in the modern age?

 The response I got was overall rather positive I found that people thought the retro feel was well conveyed and that it was a popular choice and would work in the times we are in, yet a question arose which asked how long this trend of retro would last, this got me thinking would my logo stand the test of time or just go out one day and need to be replaced? Another aspect that came up a lot within the feedback was the colours I had used, which people instantly related to the current HMV branding, my peers liked that I had kept to the same colours, which I am glad I did as I have now realised they are an important and key element to the current HMV store, the colours are a recognisable element to the brand. The type was scrutinised as people said I had not gone into the type enough, and that I could have focussed on the type a bit more, which I agree with, I feel the type I used, Futura, is seen as a more modern type, where as I have tried to put it into a retro context.

The feedback taught me that my decision to go retro in style with the design was a good idea, it is a popular theme which when done correctly can have the out stand effect for years, people appreciated the style I had chosen and agreed that retro is a popular theme especially when it comes to music. I also found that my choice of sticking to the current brands colours was a good choice, HMV is a household name and the pink and black that is used is recognisable as the company, it is wired into the high street and to change the colours would probably damage the company, people would not know what it is and would not go into the store at all.

If I had the opportunity to do things differently I would focus more on the layout of the type some feedback mentioned in, not only in the final critique but midway through and although I did change layouts and tested more a range to try and get a good layout I still feel I could have gone further. The same goes for the type I have used, the feedback on it was varied some saying it was modern and others saying it fit within the retro design I was going to, and having looked at it for so long I felt like it wasn't a good fit unlike when I first started the design, my opinions changed the deeper I got into it.

OUGD403 - LogoType - Further designs

Having looked into record vinyl stickers I looked at creating a design which is influenced by the records I looked at at. I started off with how a sticker style design would work which could be used on signage, shop windows and as a sticker for store products, it could also be sold as shop merchandise. Again I used the colours from the current logo to keep a recognisable new logo for the company. After having good feedback from my peers about the type I used in previous design, I thought it good to use the same style of Futura.  The sizing of the circles represents the size of a 7 inch vinyl.

I looked at using more simple colours to make it more representative of an LP and so that it would be easily recognisable. I have used the influence from the records I looked at and tried to change the type layout so it goes around the circle like the DECCA record label style on my 7 inch record. I kept trying a number of different variations of this style including changing the type from a block colour to just showing its outlines which is also a technique used on designs in record stickers.

I continued with the design of the HMV circling around the design and attempted it in a variation of different colour arrangements, sticking to the HMV colour scheme of white, black and pink. I thought the white type on the pink circle worked well creating a clear bold look, but this applies to them all really, the small pink type on the black is less clear than the white on black but can still work well.

 These designs are a bit more symbolic and not as clearly identified as the other designs but I feel they are clearer and would easily transfer into a range of contexts, such as bags, stickers, badges, signs and merchandise. The colours are still easily seen and interpreted as HMV and using the symbols I have, it is still symbolic of an LP.

OUGD403 - Logotype - Further research

 Having looked at LP design and cover design from the book I had I decided to look at  design of records, it being an interest of mine I have a lot of records with different design patterns, I looked at the basic ones to get an idea for layout and colour and type styles. I looked at the way a record sat on a player, the colours it gave off and the way it moved. The way the light bounced off of the spinning record and the shape it made gave me the idea to represent a record in my logo type through simple lighting shapes.

I looked at 7 inch vinyl packaging and sticker design the shape an colour used was different to every record label but the shape and style stayed to a similar format. the words always bold and clear, most record labels would use a san seriff font but few were known to use a seriff hand written looking style. The stickers used on these small disks are now sold as fashion items such as patches and stickers to decorate clothing or objects, I can use this idea when thinking of putting my logo into different contexts.

Here are more styles of vinyl stickers and took a closer look at the layout which is used, some shape the typography around the circular shape of the sticker yet some use a straight forward layout which is easier to read. All the type is usually in bold and in caps which is striking and clear, some of these labels are very basic in design with just type yet some include colour and imagery I feel the bold type style designs are more successful as they are clear and straight forward.

I will attempt to form some designs which are heavily influence by these vinyl stickers, considering layout, colour, and type.

I found these two posters when walking around leeds I thought the design was really relevant towards my research, both have elements of record discs within them and both go for a retro feel which gives the sense that the event it is advertising will be a retro sort of night. Both designs stick to a very clear bold look, using san seriff fonts and sticking to a limited colour pallet of just two or three colours, always including black to represent the record design.  I think using bold type is really effective it has to be clear and readable, I must consider this above other things so that my type is readable and recognisable .

OUGD403 - Logotype - Development work 1

I began developing ideas on illustrator using type, starting with typefaces such as Helvetica (Bold and Light) and Din. At this stage I was unsure wether to abbreviate the companies name to its now well known title of HMV or to use the original name of His Masters Voice, so I practiced around with both of them attempting different layouts and using colours which were already related to the company. I found I had more freedom when using the companies full name as I could change the layout around a lot more than when abbreviating. 

The choice of colours I used to start with were colours that were already used within the logo and also ones used in previous logos. I chose this pink because it was the colour of the old logo, I wanted to see how this colour would work in some of the design ideas I had through being influenced in my research. I used black as it has been used in all previous logo designs for HMV and it is also the usual colour of vinyl records. Black also conveys a classy look which I want to represent, especially alongside the pink of the HMV logo which I am experimenting with.

I thought that the Din type I first used looked very classy and has an old style to it. Its tall style characters make it neat and bold, it is clear and eye catching especially in black, rather than the pink. The full title of the company feels more suitable in Din, it looks smarter then the abbreviated three letters. 

After some feedback from peers on these first start off designs, I was told that these looked like book title covers or a film type which is related to HMV as these are products which are both sold by them, yet I wanted more of a music style, but this feedback also helped me realise the wider product range HMV sell and can be something I can work on.

The Black Keys - Bothers (Dover Type)

These next designs were more influenced by other music stores and music posters I looked at. The type I have used here is Dover Heavy which is an old style type, a similar type to styles I have seen used in music posters and also on album covers such as The Black Keys (An American rock band which play a very retro sound. This style I felt was very record store, retro and quirky in its chunky style. Again I attempted the same colour scheme as my first designs and the same as the current logo just to see how it worked with the Dover Heavy typeface. I feel that it worked a lot better than the Din type, in the way that the type and colours worked to make it bold and eye catching.

The feedback to this design was more positive than the first design in the way they said that it felt more of a retro music store style to them, I was also told that the sign system of the record coming out of the sleeve or square worked nicely.

Another type I used in my design development was Futura, a simple San Seriff type which is classy and bold when used in all caps. I thought that this design gave the logo a heritage feeling, a similar one to the signage for the company stores used in the 1950s (see Research). The idea behind the bottom left design comes from the brief of rebranding Coral the bookmakers, we gave that an early 20th century style look and I thought I could use a similar style to create a heritage and vintage feel.

O2 Academy Leeds Entrance

I began to define some designs using the Futura type to get a feel of how it would work with colour and in more of a thought out layout. The two designs in the top left hand corner are influenced by a number of things, the old HMV sign would be displayed on a cinematic style board which looks like this, It is now widely used in music venues to show the bands which would be playing that night or of what is up and coming, I visited the one in Leeds and also searched for it online and found that this style is popular especially to post about on social media, the retro style makes it feel like a step through time, it is a style I think is successful to any audience. With the middle left design I used an off white back ground, which is usually the style used on these boards, with HMV pink lines where the type would sit between creating a clear retro style but still using the current more know colours of todays HMV.

The Three designs on the left are a more defined version of the Coral Rebrand influenced piece in the image above, playing about with colours, seeing which colour worked best in which role, main type, small type and background, these designs felt more modern than the others which I had created, it also felt too confined and that I would be restricted once I tried putting it into context, the one thing I did find successful in this design was the look that the Futura gave the HMV letters.

The three designs at the bottom of the page was another attempt at the signage/logo design I looked at in my early development, I wanted to try and use the Futura type within this small logo as I thought that it would look interesting as an online identity or even to use as the actual shop signage. I thought the abbreviated version worked the best, same as the Dover Bold style one, I will look further into using these.

I really liked the idea of an old word board which can be related to music venues and theatres, there popularity is growing due to the classic feel the design holds, and also the nostalgia feel. I returned to using Din within these designs as I felt it held a bold class to it and after making these I thought it was a successful combination.

OUGD403 - Logotype - Research

I wanted to keep this rebranding quite music design focussed as it was the reason HMV began and has been there number one focus from the beginning, I bought this book by Hans Lijklema an image based book which looks at music related design through, concert posters, album covers, band logos and so on. The book contains a range of well known and unknown bands art work, never focussing on a specific style but a whole range of different styles, colour themes, typefaces and imagery, every piece of work in this book is very individual and eye catching. I have chosen a few which I found influential and interesting, the ones which I felt relate well to what I have looked at before and what will help me too meet my final piece.





This piece is from King Swifty's Record Shack, it is an exhibition piece showing the 2009 edition of Contre Temps music festival in strasbourg, a small annual French Electrogroove festival. This exhibit piece consists of hundreds of 7 inch single vinyls of various colour on a huge piece of wall. All the records are stored in the same design of LP sleeve with only the colour of the type changing. The Type reads Disco 45 which is reference to the British 1970's music magazine, famed for posting lyrics of popular current music. I like the typeface used it is very 70's and works well in a number of colours, the design as well is a very retro one, it is messy and inconsistent to make look like a music fun vibe. The installation as a whole is a very nice display piece and works well as a collective, more and more small music shops are choosing to fill there walls with old music images and album art, I must consider this in my designs.

This piece is a poster to advertise The Independent project shop, a record store in America which specialises in rare records, and widely unknown bands. Many of the products they sell are limited edition prints and pieces of art by the bands whose music they sell. I think that this business card by them is really effective and classy, it has a very abstract type layout but still feels very retro and clear. The use of brown on off white makes it look like the advert for a very old shop in a different era, which is very relevant to the store as they stock classic vinyl and when people think of vinyl records, the image of an older generation comes to mind.

This is one of two album cover designs for CD EP 'Build', released in 1994 by Tone, a rock band. The simplicity behind this design is really interesting it is clear, and very minimalist in the way it is just type and split off from the image below. The use of the bold black type for the bands name works well with the rough grey brown colour of the album sleeve, it is very effective next to the light type used for the album title, so that people know the name of the band which is the main point, the light type can be viewed as secondary as long as the main point is put across clear and strong.





This next piece is the album cover of Azymuth's self titled debut album, released in 1974. The design of the sleeve is so simple and eye catching it has a really interesting use of image within a symbol built around the main type. The black and white theme of type and image works really well next to the bold green type of the bands name to make it eye catching and clear. I must consider this use of colours when designing my own logotype for HMV.

This is a a poster designed by Invisible Creature, a design studio which works a lot with musicians, this piece in particular is for The National, it has a Swiss design feel to it yet with an abstract twist, the imagery has been shifted about and looks messy, which is unlike swiss design, the type has also been moved which makes the layout messy to, it still works very well as a poster in the way it is eye catching and still clear, it can be interpreted in different ways but the information for the concert is all there. It is an interesting use of a classic style twisted for modern purposes.