Want to know what kinds of things go through my head, even when I’m not at “work”?

Del Taco Coupons (“Go Bold or Go Home” Campaign)

I got this in the mail and immediately thought it was pretty attractive. That always pushes my “But why?” button! So I started looking deeper.

The background has a nice texture to it; interesting, but not dominating. It’s darkened around the edges (value), making a sort of spotlight (ah, shape!) of a lighter background behind the taco. Red is also a warm color, which is good for food (we like hot food, especially for tacos). Can you imagine this with a blue background? Not nearly as appealing!

Good design critique is not only about observing what is there, but what isn’t there, or what the designer(s) could’ve done instead but decided against. Remember that before this design was complete, the designer had to make a lot of choices and we don’t see the alternatives he/she could’ve done unless we ask ourselves what they could be.

This is the back. Yellow and yellow-green are analogous colors. I think this is a good color choice, especially for the subjects, jalapeños and breakfast (eggs, hashbrowns and waffles are yellow!). Do you see? Colors are about what we associate with them and the context they are used in. If this were an ad for laundry detergent, yellow might mean clean, bright and cheerful to us in that context.

The “New” above Jalapeño Rings is a little cramped and it creates visual tension. But as I look for how I could improve it, I see why it’s like that. Down at the bottom, the designer needed to put some legal disclaimers and copyright information, so instead of having that completely unreadable, s/he used the red product box as the background. So we can’t move the product down a bit in order to move the title and “New” down to give it more space. And then we look above and see there’s not a whole lot of room in those coupons either.  Well, ok, at the very least then, maybe “new” could have been made smaller (that would have taken care of the slight overlap—more tension!—within the black price box, too).

Speaking of tension, the front has some, too. The 99 cents box is nearly touching the taco. That is visually tense. It should either have plenty of space around it, or overlap the taco. This black box and price could have easily been smaller to get rid of that tension.

This is a 6 column grid. But few things line up precisely! I even tried some different margin and alley sizes. Notice some of the alignments: follow the left align from the 99 cents box down to “Tuedays” and “3 Classic Tacos.” Not quite even. Same for the other side. Even if you don’t want to use a grid (which is not recommended!), at the very least, make sure your elements align to themselves if not to a grid (the top and bottom elements here should at least line up together).

So this is picky, but the alignment does bug me! The color division should align down the center of the dashed stroke around the coupons, instead it’s aligned to the left side of the stroke.

Go Bold or Go Home, Sherlock!

So that font. It’s so familiar isn’t it? Just a little poking around in the WhatTheFont forum revealed it’s called Ravenscroft (a free download from Mickey Avenue). The author says, “Ravenscroft was inspired by the lettering used around Disney’s Haunted Mansion attractions.”

But it has definitely existed before this digital version, which was created in 2001. The Sherlock Holmes series from Granada (the ones with Jeremy Brett from 1984 – 1994) used an extremly similar font extensively in titles. And I swear I’ve seen it in some Taco Bell stuff, too! Lesson: be careful when using these recognizable display fonts. They may remind people of things you didn’t intend!

Did you notice anything else about this design? Do you critique designs like this in order to learn from them, even in your supposedly off hours?

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It is helpful to go over each element and principle individually, but it is equally as helpful to see how each element and principle of design works in the context of a single design. Below we will analyze the design theory behind this Wrigley’s Tea Escapes packaging from Hornall Anderson.

Overview

Remember the elements of design are color, line, shape, space, scale/size, texture and value.

The principles of design are balance, contrast, direction, economy, emphasis, proportion, rhythm/repetition and unity/harmony.

While going through this critique, also ask yourself how each element and principle affects the mood of the design and also how each contributes to the message and the delivery of that message. What is the message of this design? Some key words and phrase from the Hornall Anderson site:

• Making candy a spiritual experience
• A delicious, nourishing experience for mind, body, and spirit
• Much more than just a candy

Analyzing the Design

The color palette used in this tea candy packaging is fairly monochromatic; each version uses different shades (hue + black), tints (+ white) and tones (+ grey) of one base color. This lends a heavy, yet not unpleasant hand to the unity of the package.

The value of the background gets lighter as we get towards the center of the package, which frames the focal point, the Tea Escapes logo and text, well and draws the eye to it. Notice that the gradient is in the shape of a circle as well (it could have been more of an inner glow around outside of the square tin instead, for example). Circles are a famous way to say, “Hey! Look at this!” (Spotlight anyone?) By using a soft gradient, though, it makes this focal point indicator much more subtle and sophisticated. Did you see that there are actually two gradients? The one in the background, but also the one on the leaf itself.  And that’s a very large (scale! Large items draw more attention), round leaf, too. Pretty clever.

The line texture in the background is also converging in the middle of the design, just in case you didn’t know that’s where your eye is supposed to be going.

Take a look at the overall values present in the packaging series. The area with the most contrast is in the center. Geez, they really want you to look at the center of those packages don’t they!

Finally, along with the gradients pointing there, the center of the package is the area with the highest concentration of the lightest value (all that text and the Harmony character).

Notice how all these elements of design (shape, value, line, scale) contribute to the principle of direction. Even the principles of contrast and proportion contribute to direction.

The design is pretty well centrally balanced because of the design decisions addressed above, but also because of the distribution of space. The main shape, the leaf, is mostly round, but it is still an organic (not geometric) shape. It breaks up the canvas and creates a more interesting negative area around it, which is conveniently broken up into quadrants with the aid of the tags on the sides. These quadrants are then filled with extra information about the candy. The net weight text creates a sturdy base for the design and anchors the design at the bottom (they could have made that text smaller and shoved it to one side).

I would say the only thing that feels awkward is the Harmony icon in the logo. Why make it half knocked out? Perhaps a nod to yin and yang? Maybe because now it looks like two ‘E’s for Escapes?

Some other brief notes on the elements and principles employed here:

• The tabs on the left and right sides almost bracket the name Tea Escapes, giving it more emphasis.
• Unity is created through a monochromatic color scheme, similar values in the hues throughout the series (when you look at the grayscale image above, the tins look amazingly similar, though in color they are easy to tell apart).
• Rhythm is created through the line texture in the background and by repeating the same layout throughout each package in the series.
• There are some nice contrasts in shape (square tin, round leaf) to add interest. Contrast
• Think about the effects of the proportion of the leaf to whole tin. What would be the affect on the design if the leaf was smaller? What if it was so large it got cut off at the top and bottom?
• Remember that the principle of economy means that there is not a single element that doesn’t belong nor is there anything detracts from the message. Do you see anything that is not economical in these designs? Extra colors, lines, too many textures or even too many words or pictures?

Typographical Hierarchy

The hierarchy of the text is important to consider, too. We can specifically analyze the use of color, value, size and contrast here. The design tells us that the most important text is Tea Escapes (and the logo). How do we know? It is the largest sized text and it has the most contrast in value (it’s white, while all the other text is a shade or tint of the main hue!) and also by the placement on the page, in the middle of all those other elements directing us to the center that we were talking about above.

The design tells us the least important piece of information is the net weight at the bottom. How do we know? It is in the least amount of value contrast relative to its surroundings, it is very dark, it’s at the bottom of the layout and there is nothing around it that draws attention to it (like the two tidbits in the upper corners with their flourishes).

The type of tea flavor in the candy (green, red, chai, etc) is slightly curved, which separates it and the text below it a bit from the Tea Escapes logo and title, telling us that it’s important, but not as important as the fact that you are buying Tea Escapes.

Notice the consistency (unity) of the typography, too. There are no combinations of upper and lower case letters. The words are either in all upper case or all lower case, and actually, the only occurrence of lower case letters is the script “infused with.” The script font and the lower case letters of “infused with” diminish the importance of that phrase, and really, it’s only there to connect, so the rest of the text below it (an important part) belongs.

What other uses of the elements and principles do you notice? Does studying successful designs by breaking apart the uses of the elements and principles help you become a better designer? Why not try it on your own? Or better yet, write an article discussing them for Creative Curio!

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A house divided against itself cannot stand.

That Lincoln was a smart, well versed man. Unity binds together elements and strengthens what it supports. It is so in any aspect of life, even design!

What is Unity?

Unity in graphic design is what ties everything together. It is the sense that the design is consistent, it agrees with itself in each element, there is nothing sticking out that says, “I don’t belong!” Sometimes people refer to the principle of unity as harmony.

Unity is used to…

• Harmonize
• Tie everything together
• Create consistency

Creating Unity

Unity is often created through repetition, or what I’ve defined previously as rhythm. Rhythm focuses more on the actual repeated use of these elements, where unity focuses more on the entire system; how well each piece contributes to the whole and how well all the pieces blend together to support the design.

Choosing a harmonious color palette to use throughout a design is the easiest way to create unity in color. Research established color theory as well as your handy dandy color wheel to help you.

Arranging lines consistently and ensuring a regular style, even if they are consistently inconsistent.

Scale is a difficult beast to work with sometimes, especially if you have multiple sections that need emphasis. Create unity through scale by making sidebar boxes the same width (can’t always make those the same height), headings, subheads, captions, etc. the same size and weight as each other, and keeping image sizes in a proportional scale to each other (or even better, to the page, too!).

Unity through shape looks like choosing to use all rounded shapes or all angular shapes, all geometric or all organic. That doesn’t mean you can’t use a square in a mostly soft, circular design, but perhaps you round the corners to bring it more in line with the overall shape theme.

Like with rhythm, we can assess space in terms of layout. Using a well-defined and flexible grid (think alignment and placement, too) is your number one route to unity with space. If things are too spread out, the design will definitely feel disconnected.

What kind and how much texture a design uses has a huge impact on the feeling of unity. A glossy button would look so out of place in a grungy design! Torn edges and distressed paper would suit a grungy design much better.

Similar values will really make a design cohesive. Having difficulty with your color palette but just can’t figure out why? It might be that you have a wide range of values present. Try making everything grayscale and see if anything jumps out as being too dark or too light compared to the rest of the design.

Examples of Unity

Galerie au chocolat

If you have the budget or you’re just really lucky with stock photos (or maybe taking your own!) it’s awesome to create unity through images. The same models or the same strong colors or the same photography style can go a long way in adding harmony to a design. This goes along especially with illustrations. It seems there is a much wider variance in illustration styles than photography styles, so be particularly conscious of mixing; it usually doesn’t work well. (design by Paprika)

Geek Squad

Creating a typographical hierarchy system is a perfect way to add some unity to a design. This will employ the elements of scale/size, value and probably color. Lucky Geek Squad employees who get an awesome manual like this! (design by Crispin Porter + Bogusky)

Stanford Lively Arts

I absolutely adore designs that have a style they can carry through every piece of literature. From the use of graphic flourishes to the distressed texture, font choice and type treatment, the system created by Chen Design Firm for Stanford Lively Arts is saturated with unity. It is particularly important to note that a unified theme also employs the principle of contrast; the two principles are not mutually exclusive. Contrast is seen in the use of individual principles of design (most notably here in texture, color and value).

How You Can Improve Your Sense of Unity

The most obvious step is to look at the design as a whole. Does anything stand out like a sore thumb? Why? Look at the elements of design to help you identify what needs to be changed. Is it the only spot of red in the entire layout? Is it the only headline that has a stroke around it? Is it the only circle in the midst of an obvious grid layout?

Next, go through your layout and identify what elements you’ve used that give it a cohesive feel. Did you consciously pick a color palette? Are your lines (implied or literal) all going in the same direction? Do you need to repeat any elements to make them fit better into the design? Remember odd numbers are best!

Think about your economy, too. Is there any element that is unnecessary? Eliminating even that borderline element will strengthen the unity because there is less that can tear it apart.

Finally, learn to use a grid. This would include checking the alignment of all your objects. If you haven’t yet, go pick up Grid Systems in Graphic Design
by Josef Muller-Brockmann. This quote from the introduction sums it up nicely,

If the text and pictures are arranged systematically, the priorities stand out more clearly.

And that’s it for the principles of design! If you want to review, we’ve been through balance, contrast, direction, economy, emphasis, proportion, rhythm (repetition) and how to apply them in your designs.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Please consider using them in an effort to support Creative Curio! Thanks!

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Thank you for being a loyal Creative Curio reader. Since you like the content I publish so much, why not tell a friend?

What is Rhythm?

Rhythm is repetition. Rhythm is consistency. Rhythm is an established placement of elements and it brings immense unity to a layout.

Rhythm is used to…

• Unify
• Direct
• Emphasize

Creating Rhythm

Rhythm and proportion are closely aligned. They are slightly different in that rhythm focuses on the repetitive (in the truest sense of the word, which is not “boring”) aspect of a design. Rhythm also helps to achieve balance and can even contribute to a design’s direction and emphasis.

Repeat specific colors (your palette) throughout the layout. Similar to proportion, seek to use these specific colors more than once, so that they obviously belong in the layout.

Carefully arranged lines add a lot of visual order and emphasize the grid.

Scale can be a subtle way to create rhythm. You can repeat an object but reduce the size each time. This would also help create direction (almost like an arrow pointing from smallest to largest and then onward towards the focal point).

It’s a good idea to repeat obvious shapes and use them to help guide the audience’s eye through a design.

Rhythm can be seen in the element of space when you consider the overall distribution of objects. Using a consistent layout with the help of a structured grid will add

Use a similar texture or pattern to help identify different parts of the design or system.

Just like creating rhythm with color, stay within a set range of values.

Examples of Rhythm

One Degree

You may have seen the debate over the winning logo from the Wolda awards. Sure, at first glance it may seem overly simplistic and uninspiring, but then you discover how Jason Little from Landor Associates Sydney has employed this little guy all over the One Degree literature and you begin to really appreciate this gem of a mark. Rhythm can be as simple as a repeated graphic. But in its simplicity, this graphic adds a whole dimension of careful, thoughtful planning (hey, that’s design!). Here they also use the blue to add repetition—not to mention it adds to the more environmentally friendly print aspect, only using two colors, black and blue. Hopefully they also used soy inks and recycled papers!

Super Heroes

This is an excellent example of rhythm through repeated shapes. Notice how all the shapes together make a rounded rectangle, but the divided shapes have square corners unless they are one of the corners of the larger rounded rectangle.

Nuchi Packaging

Designed by Shine Advertising for Nuchi, this packaging is simple but full of rhythm. The images and text are in the same place so you know where to look from package to package to see what is inside. The colors—especially the orange—are consistent so you can easily identify that they are from the same brand. Even the photography is rhythmic—there is always one train car on the lid and three on the side on top of a track. And did you notice that the angle of the photography is the same, too?

The shapes of the containers themselves are all basic geometry—triangle, rectangle and circle—and the same height, which adds to the feeling of rhythm and consistency. You might say, “Yeah, sure, that’s an easy decision,” but remember, they could have used boxes of varying heights or crazy shapes like octagons or organic shapes to fit the outline of each piece inside. I’m sure even these basic shapes of the packaging were a very conscious decision from the folks at Shine.

How You Can Improve Your Sense of Rhythm

If you’re using a page layout program, by far the easiest way to create a rhythmic design is to use master pages. That way, you can lay down the basic structure, page numbering, section titles or other consistently present elements on one page, which saves you time and the hassle of lining things up from page to page.

Use shape to create rhythm. Are you creating a step-by-step process? Call out each step with a circle or square around it. Designing a book, newsletter or brochure? Use the same rounded rectangle to highlight each sidebar chart or pull quote.

Use color to create rhythm in a similar way by color-coding each section or group in the layout (perfect for a catalog!). In color palettes, it’s definitely a good idea to have an accent color that’s repeated for key information.

Alternate elements (like textures, colors, values or shapes) to create a rhythmic sequence. You could also create a progression of elements, like a gradient only with other elements of design. For example, objects could get progressively larger (creating direction!) or textures could get progressively more complex or compact.

Plan a typographical hierarchy system with titles, headers, subheads, running footers, etc. Use color, shape and scale to keep it consistent. The viewers will be trained to recognize these things and it will make it easier for them to find what they are looking for.

Grab the free Creative Curio RSS feed (What is RSS?). If you need to review, we’ve been through balance, contrast, direction, economy, emphasis, proportion, and how to apply them in your designs.

If you’re interested in more applied design theory, take a look at the Elements of Design: Real World Examples series.

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Thanks for subscribing to the Creative Curio feed! You can pick up your free subscriber gift, a handy cheat sheet of common Photoshop shortcuts,  by going to the PDF Download Page. You are most welcome to read the articles and comments that helped create this PDF and contribute more if you have some!

Thank you for being a loyal Creative Curio reader. Since you like the content I publish so much, why not tell a friend?