Color

Today in class we made an attempt at combining two projects. We began with an image that we need to make in order to help our colleagues in the Instructional Design class and implemented colors to create a more effective or more appealing visual. My group is working with the CCM site. One of the more simple images that is needed is a sign with information about the main contact of the CCM house, Father Jim Curran. Each image was created and edited with photoshop. The initial image was a simple black background with all black text. Here are two of the options after color was added.

Primary Colors:

This image uses only the three primary colors, blue, yellow, and red. I had to adjust the brightness of the red so that it would still be readable on the blue background. The blue allowed the sign to be readable as the other two color options were extremely bright and tough on the eyes. This combination and placement of colors was determined after several tries with using different colors in different areas.

Secondary Colors:

This image uses only the three secondary colors, green, violet, and orange. This placement was easier to determine than the first as it seemed more obvious as I worked because I had already had the experience with the first sign. I did not want lots of orange with the green because I felt it would have too much of a Halloween feel. I think that this selection of colors worked out for me in the end.

I personally prefer the first example over the second. I do however enjoy what I learned through the color exercise. I believe that the grouping of colors, whether primary, secondary, or complimentary, is a valuable tool in visual designs. These images may not be exactly what is needed at the site but the lesson and experimentation with colors was still effective.

Having these color palates allows the image to really stick together and work toward a single unique goal. In this case its goal is to provide information to its viewer. The placement also promotes this theme as all the information in the image is centered on the page, except for the not at the bottom which stands out due to the change in color. Some sort of stroke or shadow could have been placed on the words to allow them to pop away from the background a little but overall the pages are definitely still readable and ascetically pleasing.