Color Harmony Rules

(monochromatic)

(analogous)

(complimentary)

(triadic)

all four of these images follow the different color harmony rules.  I found all these pieces of art in an art book called the Usborne Introduction of Art.  Painters, designers and every artist needs to use the rules of color harmony in order to achieve a complete and aesthetically pleasing work of art.   The first one is composed of different shades of blue for the entire thing and ends up being monochromatic.  The second one is analogous because is has three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.  the third one is complimentary because it has two colors that are opposite from each other on the wheel.  The last picture is Triadic because of the three colors that are 120 degrees way from one other on the color wheel.  

color

This is a book cover that is my moms and i saw it on our counter. It is not a super bright colorful picture, but i loved the color scheme.  The dark maroon and the green stand out together and work really well.  The whites and blacks contrast really well with the colors and makes everything pop out and gives a more bold effect.  These colors are also sometimes thought of when you are trying to eat healthy, which is the books content.  

positive/negative space

This is a design ad from a food and wine festival I remember seeing before. It is  very eye-catching because of the simple image and sharp contrast. They use the positive space to create a national symbol for food (the fork) and they use the negative space in the prongs of the fork to create wine bottles. both fit in well and are very noticeable and recognizable.   It also has some asymmetrical balance by having the main design in the bottom left corner and the large text in the upper right corner, which evens everything out. 

Balance

This image is a design from a bodybuilding magazine in my house. It stuck out to me because of the symmetry and the style of ad that they chose.  It is a very interesting composition to look at because of the way the text and image is symmetrically laid out.   The header is very bold and a attention getting phrase and it also leaves you on the top of the image, then your eyes wander down towards the bottom where it gives you more info and a better sense of the product through the image and text. Another way this caught my eye was the way they chose to advertise the product. Normally, the supplements and vitamins that are advertised have a very modern look and feel, giving a sense of new and high quality branded product. This product chose to have a rough and manly feel to it by having faded, beaten up text followed with a working hand putting the product into a meat grinder with a wooden background. 

Depth

This is a design that I discovered through the text book, Megg's History of Graphic Design.  It stuck out to me for its sense of depth and variety.  The way the shapes are placed and arranged the piece has a sense of layers and a 3d look.  The word "expo" covers some shapes that face a different direction that make the text pop out and look less flat.  also the word "expo" is duplicated and placed underneath the word and other shapes to further push the sense of depth and layers.   This design has multiple colors and is all over the place with its shapes. 

balance

This is a piece of art that I found from the book Megg's History of Design. It stuck out to me because of the bold contrast and simplicity.  The design has a very good balance of white and black. The alternating black and white legs in the middle and the top and bottom negative space causes a very interesting layout.  It has symmetrical balance from top to bottom, down the middle split. even the small type at the bottom is symmetrical with the artwork which is important.