Pattern Inspiration

I found some interesting patterns at Paper Presentation today. Some of these I love for their design and color palette. Some aren’t as successful, but can still provide inspiration. I am enjoying the combination of geometric shapes and organic forms. I can see this being incorporated into the development of pattern designs for this project.

Week 5: Exploration of Cyan

I completed a cyan hue collage using inspiration from my surroundings as well as online resources. I see cyan as a clear sky and as the backdrop to our daily lives. It is strong and vibrant at the time when working professionals are at the peak of productivity. It is an indicator of sunshine and hope.

For my color book, I plan to take photographs of different areas in New York city, looking up. I hope to capture pictures during all different times of the day and document the sky in many different shades and tints of cyan. From these pictures, I plan to draw inspiration for pattern design, using palettes with cyan as the signature hue. I will explore palettes of analogous colors, complementary pairs, split-complimentary colors, shades, tints and tones, as well as draw inspiration from the use of cyan in my interior and exterior surroundings.

I used two photos to inspire patterns that demonstrate split-complementary sets. Cyan is a process color and is not really found on the color wheel. As a substitute, I used blue-green. Therefore split-complementary colors to cyan turned out to be: red and orange. I actually found this color palette to be rather displeasing. I think the blue-green is more successful in this scheme. Based on time constraints, these patterns are fairly geometric and simple. I plan to develop more hand-crafted and intricate patterns for my color book, but this was a good starting point. I found it useful to map out the varying shades and tints in black and white, before incorporating color. This practice helped to develop depth and movement in the pattern.

Week 5: Q & A

1. Why do we choose the colors we do?

I think we often choose the colors we do based on instinct. Our choices may be impacted by personal style and aesthetic preference, cultural influences, trends in design and fashion and visual or subconscious associations. I think some over our color choices may even come from childhood influences and memories associated with certain colors.

2. How and when did we come to know which is our favorite color?

I think our favorite color began when we preferred one specific crayon over all of the others. In that regard, my favorite color tends to be one that I use frequently in my designs or is particularly useful in my illustrations (for example: indigo, jade green, mediterranean blue, and black grape). I think our favorite color is based on one we find to be aesthetically pleasing and one we gravitate towards in our lives in terms of clothing, home decor and accessories. I think favorite colors can also change based on external life factors, such as seasons, life experiences, visual inspiration or varying emotions.

3. Do we love only colors that complement us or our surroundings physically?

Not at all. I think people who are not particularly artistically inclined may more readily choose from colors found in their immediate environment, but as designers we are often called upon to choose colors that will pop and stand out from our surroundings. It also depends on the use of the color. We may love a color for an interior, which wouldn’t work in fashion. Or a color combination may be perfect for a surface design, but wouldn’t work for a poster.

4. How much are our preferences based on good and bad associations and memories of a certain color at a certain time?

As a designer, I try to be fairly objective about color use and choose which colors best serve the purpose of my design, but I definitely feel our color choices are influenced by memories. I definitely make associations with colors that remind me of my childhood home, my grandparent’s houses, summer camp, school supplies and favorite outfits I wore as a child. I also feel as though people frequently gravitate towards a similar palette. It may be hard to break from a limited palette that works and feels comfortable.

5. Why is color such a personal decision and what do our choices reveal about our true nature?

I think color says a lot about someone’s personality. Bright colors palettes, dark and somber palettes, soft palettes, earth-tone palettes, etc. Each of these could easily offer hints about someone’s lifestyle and, accordingly, their character. Color is such a personal decision because there are so many options. This is an area where people can be expressive. Color holds a lot of power and can communicate a strong message, so people can communicate visually and directly through color choices.

Cyan: Color of the millennium

In a 1999 press release, Pantone anointed cerulean blue the color of the millennium. The article states: “Psychologically, gazing at a blue sky brings a sense of peace and tranquillity to the human spirit,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Sky blue is imprinted in our psyches as a retiring, quiescent color. Surrounding yourself with Cerulean blue could bring on a certain peace because it reminds you of time spent outdoors, on a beach, near the water – associations with restful, peaceful, relaxing times. In addition, it makes the unknown a little less frightening because the sky, which is a presence in our lives every day, is a constant and is always there. That’s the dependability factor of blue.”

Artist Inspiration: Rob Gonsalvez

Rob Gonsalvez is a surrealist painter and a Canadian artist. A while back, he visited the school where my mother works and she bought me his children’s book called “Imagine a Place.” I recently rediscovered this amazing book and it is now providing a lot of inspiration for my thesis design project. After I researched Johannes Itten for my Color Workshop presentation this week, I realized how Gonsalvez applies many of Itten’s theories and how what an incredible colorist he is. I can tell he is using complementary contrasts, lights and darks contrasts and especially the contrast of extension.

Rob Gonsalvez Gallery

Week 4: Johannes Itten

For Project 1, I have chosen to research Johannes Itten. Itten was a painter, sculptor, designer, writer and theorist. He is most recognized for his color theories and for having been a founding faculty member at the Weimar Bauhaus. I chose to study him because his color theories are very relevant today and I am always interested in learning more about the teachings of the Bauhaus.

Itten_Presentation

Itten_Presentation_Visual

Week 4: Complementary Colors/Chelsea Galleries

I went over to the Chelsea Galleries for a short visit in search of complementary and split-complementary colors. I was actually excited once I got there because I love art-related excursions. I definitely have to visit more often because I found some beautiful painting and lots of inspiration.

Christian Vincent, Mike Weiss Gallery

This could be seen as complementary: blue/orange. But within this painting there are a variety of shades and tones of orange, red-orange, blue and blue-violet.

Jackie Meier, Nancy Margolis Gallery

This painting show two complementary pairs: red/green and blue orange. I love the concentric movement and energy.

Hope Gangloff, Susan Inglett Gallery

I loved this artist’s work because she used such a unique combination of a muted palette with intensely saturated accent colors. This image shows a split complementary set: blue/red-orange and yellow-orange.

Jacob Ouilette, Nancy Margolis Gallery

This painting was the perfect example of blue and orange analogous color schemes AND complementary colors!

BONUS:

Julian Stanczak, Nancy Margolis Gallery

A few analogous color schemes to add to last week’s assignment. I could resist these interesting, dimensional and detailed studies.

Homework Assignment:

Complementary Pairs

We were asked to complete a painting exercise using complementary pairs. We experimented by mixing two complementary colors in order to create neutral grey. I mixed blue/orange and red/green, and then matched the mixes in Coloraid. The blue/orange mix resulted in a YGw-S4 Coloraid. The red/green mix resulted in a Y-S4 Coloraid.

Week Three: Analogous Colors

I found analogous color schemes in my surroundings, which was slightly more difficult than I had anticipated. I noticed analogous colors in an expected place, at the art store. In a funny place, on the F train. And in abundance, at the book store. I tried looking for solid hues but, when I created color palettes using Adobe Kuler, I was intrigued by the range of shades and tones that I found.

I completed value studies, using Coloraid.

I did an analogous color scheme study with Coloraid, using my assigned hue: cyan. I chose to show the hues of cyan, green and yellow-green, with two shades and two tints. I also included cyan’s complimentary hue, red-orange, with two shades and two tints. I find that the colors appear more accurate and vibrant on paper, while the scanner seems to slightly alter the color values and saturations.

In the following exercise, I used Acrylic Guerra paints to create scales of tint, tone and shade for four hues. I began with my primary hue: cyan. I added small increments of white, grey and black. Then I completed similar studies using two of its analogous hues (green and yellow-green) and its compliment (red-orange). I have experience doing these types of studies and found this one to be very time-consuming. I noticed that some colors had a larger range of variation when adding white, grey and black, for example red-orange. Whereas other colors did not stretch as far, for example yellow-green. Therefore some scales are longer than others. I also found that the scanner washed out some subtle variations in the tints, tones and shades, which are more apparent on paper. When I realized how similar some of the squares appeared, I removed them digitally to create a more even progression.

Cyan: Take One

Color in Copenhagen

When I was studying textile design in Copenhagen this past summer, we were encouraged to notice interesting and appealing color combinations and record them as studies in our sketchbooks. I became much more aware of my surroundings and found beautiful color combinations in unexpected places. Here are three examples of color studies taken from my own photographs. I matched the colors with Coloraid, and tried to give a sense of ratios.