Some people find it mysterious that designers and artists can create a specific look and feel for a piece. They are baffled by how much the design emanates a particular mood. I think sometimes even other designers and artists wonder how the piece so captures a particular emotion!
If you can put aside the belief that it is magic, and take a close look, you’ll find it’s not so mysterious after all. Study how a layout uses the elements of design, pick apart the use of line and value, notice the color palette.
Let’s take a “fresh” look as an example and break it down.
Color
Most of the time the colors will be blues and greens. They have a calming affect on people. They also have connotations of water, grass and sky—things of nature, which are generally relaxing. There may also be some yellow or orange mixed in, to add some cheeriness. Look at how the background color has an affect on the overall design, too. Is white too stark and sterile? What about a softer egg shell or warm sand color?
Line
The use of line can go either very organic and natural or clean and thin. Natural lines would be ideal for the packaging of a wholesome food product, where you might want the cleaner look of the thin strokes for a day spa brochure—a client will still want some structure and order to a relaxing spa day, and the thin lines and focus on a strict grid will give the design a very “Zen,” or harmonious, feeling.
Shape
Shapes should be soft and curved; think circles and natural shapes like leaves, clouds, water ripples and blades of grass. You probably want to stay away from rectangular and other harsher shapes like triangles because, although they speak of stability and trustworthiness, they are also hard, sharp, too solid and not flexible.
Scale
Little leaves and flowers or small fluffy clouds can create a cute pattern or border for a design, but using a macro shot of a water drop on leaf can also bring some nice flavor to the layout.
Space
There is always plenty of breathing room in fresh feeling designs. They are free and relaxing, never overcrowded or stuffy feeling.
Value
The brighter and more pure the hues, the more of a new sense the fresh feeling will have. That’s not to say that a design with a fresh feeling needs to only use bright colors, muted, earthy colors can work well, too. They will enhance the design’s connection with nature and “getting back to basics.” Most pastels will pull off the fresh feel nicely, too.
Does that help explain how designers achieve a certain feeling for a piece? Do you find it difficult to break down a design and examine its elements?
I love this article!
As a student I am always trying to tear apart certain designs so that I can put them back together and figure everything out. I think of it almost like a puzzle to figure out what fits where and which elements are working together to make a certain effect. Personally I think that if a designer can make you forget about the basic concepts for even a second with their design, then they have done their job.
Jacob,
Yeah! I like to take designs apart, too. It’s an awesome way to learn and grow as a designer. I always target those designs where I’m overwhelmed by how good it is. If I can understand the concepts behind the design, then I can learn to make my designs spectacular, too! Got ideas for any other moods? Or do you have a design you’d like to try to break apart? (Guest post??)
What a beautiful and inspiring article. Thanks, a lot, Lauren. Next time you come up with such posts, you should consider guest writing on Inspiration Bit
I don’t know if it’s a curse or a blessing, but often I spend more time studying the ads, illustrations, photographs, typography in a magazine that read the actual articles.
Vivien,
A guest post for you is a great idea! Can’t promise it’ll be any time soon though :/ Still trying to straighten out the details of my redesign. Some little issues are still poking about. Haha, I know what you mean about studying the ads more than reading articles; for me, I’m always looking at the technical execution, masking, Photoshop filters, etc. I even love having ads in my design industry magazines because they tend to be really good and every bit as inspiring as the articles!
Interesting Read, your question: “Do you find it difficult to break down a design and examine its elements?”
Usually on a big project I find it hard to look at the bigger picture, but when you break it down and start focusing on the smaller elements it makes things a lot easier to manage. Great read and nice points.
Liam,
I agree! Sometimes I get so sucked into the design, though, that it’s hard to remember to take a step back and see the overall picture, especially the weak points! Glad you enjoyed this article :)