Tone and Color

Poster made by Lindsey Cowley

How tone is operating

The swirling shapes filled with several tones of blue and the hierarchy of type shown through different tones of blue reveal the use of tone within the poster. The use of a dark tone of blue in relation to the lighter tones used give the impression of dimension. The darker toned blue swatches look further away in the image. Also, the vertical lines used within some of the darker tones add more tonal information by making them look more three dimensional in contrast to the solid colored tones of blue. The array of blue tones used within the text of this poster portrays the use of tone to achieve a hierarchy of information. The dark toned text is used to create interest and attention to the most important information while the lighter tones are used on the text that is less important. The darker toned text also is conveyed as darker because of its juxtaposition with the lighter tones of the text surrounding it.



How tone is interacting

Tone is interacting with the basic visual element of dimension for this image. Dimension is implied by the use of juxtaposed dark and light tones throughout. The image utilizes perspective because of the use of dimension through tone. The lighter toned blues are seen as closer to the viewer while the darker toned blues are seen as farther away or in the background. In the bottom half of the image, the lighter toned blues are given more prominence than the darker tones, giving these shapes more dimension to make them look more like they would in real life. This can really be seen in a specific section of the poster. The top right hand corner of the poster shows the darkest toned blue as the background while the lighter toned blues are placed on top of the dark toned background, having the viewer preceve the darkest toned blue as being in the back of the lighter toned circles.



How color is operating

Color is being used by giving the visual experience of calmness and easiness. The use of a cool color is said to portray these kinds of moods for the viewer. The different meanings of the hue used can be from tranquility, serenity, and knowledge. The use of yellow as the background color for the poster also gives the impression of mellowness and calm. Yellow and blue are apart of the primary colors of the color wheel and are both the main colors used within this poster. The purpose of this can be to evoke simplicity while creating interest. Saturation and brightness of the colors used are more on the low side, this can bring up an serene type of emotional response from the viewer. The use of blues can also give meaning to the swirls seen in the bottom half of the image, giving the viewer the impression that they are symbolic of the ocean.



How color is interacting 

Color is interacting with the basic visual element of movement in this image. The swirled lines seen in the bottom half of the image has the viewer’s eyes constantly scanning throughout the poster but the colors used within the swirls of lines give the viewer the information to place them as a symbol, the ocean or water. The rhythms of the sweeping swirling circular lines give the impression of movement, which the viewer attaches to their experiences with objects seen in real life that have that sweeping look of motion and the hues of blue connected to them. The viewer then comes to the conclusion that what is being abstractly portrayed in the band poster above is actually water.

Visual Communication

The Line

Lines are the basic element of visual communication used within the design process and final design of visual communication design. The picture above shows the exclusive use of lines while in the second step to the design process called thumbnails. Line is something that easily gives meaning to an idea and makes it reality; this is why using only lines throughout the thumbnail process of design is key to its success, this makes line decisive. Lines communicate and can be used as a vehicle to propel thoughts into clear visual images, this is what gives line direction. Lines can also be connoted into different symbols that carry meaning, giving the line purpose. The colored in boxed items can be symbolic of solid color or a place where images can be placed. This two-dimensional visual element is juxtaposed within these thumbnails by the contrast of the black of the line and the white of the paper, giving the line meaning by showing the structure of the design idea.

Color

Color is a basic element of visual communication used in the design process and final design of visual communication. This image in particular showcases the use of color within a mood board. Creating a mood board is a technique designers use to create a template of the aesthetic of their project. It gives the designer an idea of what kind of mood and overall layout the finished product will be and it is included in the process of creating a design. Color plays a huge role in creating a mood board because color depicts what kind of overall mood the piece will have. The color is depicted in this image as reminiscent of hot summer days, they are also identified as the primary hues red, yellow, and blue. The red can be symbolic of the heat, the yellow can symbolize the sun, and the grey-ish blue can be symbolic of the ocean. These colors are less saturated indicating that the designer wanted to convey a certain feeling of subtlety and softness. Because the colors have a low saturation, the brightness is low as well. Context is important in effectively communicating to the viewer; corresponding with the summer-like and natural images, the three color swatches the viewer can easily interpret what kind of aesthetic the designer is going for with the connotation that each color exudes. Color can denote many different feelings and can also be cultural; choosing the wrong colors for a design can shift the design as a whole into a different tone and lead to bad design. 

Movement

           

Movement is a basic element of visual communication used in the design process and final design of visual communication. This template of a web design is an example of the use of movement within a design. This design in particular demonstrates the implied movement within the layout of the design, the viewers eyes scan from line to line following them through the image, then the picture of the pointing hand and the slanted tree guide the eye back up to the top of the page. The movement of this template is depicted through the placement of elements for the viewer to easily “read” the design in the most effective way. The movement of this template can also be defined by the “left-right, top-bottom preferences” when looking at certain things, the eyes can tend to scan left, down, right and back up. This design is effectively taking advantage of that because it provides clear horizontal lines as well as images along the bottom right hand side of the image to create interest and help the viewers eyes scan back upwards on the image.

Visual Thinking Research

The puzzle above was solved using different visual thinking operations explained in In Experiences In Visual Thinking by Robert McKim. In order to solve the puzzle, we had to choose which groups of shapes were bigger in volume, A, B, or C. The first visual thinking operation that I used to help solve this puzzle was filling in. Similar to the Law of Closure of the Gestalt Principles, filling in is using what is provided in the puzzle to infer what will visually complete the image. When comparing the groups of blocks in the puzzle, I tried to visually close the shapes together in order to imagine how they would look combined. Visualizing the result of more than one shape being combined gave me the information needed to compare size with the other groups of blocks. Another visual operation I used was matching, when solving the puzzle I quickly identified each group’s shapes and matched them to together to visually differentiate them to give me the information to choose which set of shapes is largest. Kinesthetic imagery played a part in solving this puzzle as well because motion is being used to visually imagine where the blocks of shapes need to fit into in order to find the solution to the puzzle. I also used my visual memory in order to remember the visual shapes of the puzzle in my mind while going back and forth from the paper to my visual memory. This helped me make my final decision of group C being the largest in volume. Orthographic imagination was used as well during the solving of this puzzle because imagining the shapes rotated played an important part in helping to visually connect the shapes.

To solve this puzzle, there must be four pairs of interlinked hearts found. Visual operations from, In Experiences In Visual Thinking by Robert McKim and one law from The Gestalt Principle were used while solving this puzzle. The Law of Proximity was used to navigate through the many different hearts because the solver is looking for the specific hearts that are linking. When first looking at the puzzle, it’s a little challenging to differentiate the linked hearts with the non-linked hearts because the brain categorizes all the hearts together since they are all very close together in the image. Finding is used in order to help solve the puzzle because a certain pattern of the locking hearts is needed to be found within the image and is actively remembered visually while looking through the many hearts. Categorizing is also being used to solve this puzzle because in order to distinguish which hearts are interlocking, active pattern seeking is used to recognize common features of interlocking hearts and categorizing them into images that contain the solution to the puzzle. The final visual operation that helped solve this puzzle was kinesthetic imagery because motion was used in order for the brain to trace the separate hearts to reveal which of the hearts were connected to each other.