Pantone My Street - Research

Pantone:
A pantone is specified in the dictionary as ‘a system for matching colours that is used in specifying printing inks.’ A pantone uses a universal numbering system to identify colours. This allows the colours to be standardised and for manufacturers of different companies to be able to math colours without having to bring them into contact. A pantone is commonly used in the production of coloured paint, fabric and plastics. 

Joseph Albers uses of colour:

Josef Albers was born on the 19th of March 1888 and died the 25th of March in 1976. He was extremely famous for his iconic abstract paintings which influenced Op-Art Artists who went onto further his research into human perception. In  1963, he developed an experiment looking into an alternative way of understanding and studying colour through trial and error and experience. This was a new way of looking at colour in contrast to attempting to understand it through theoretical dogma. Josef wrote a book called the Interaction of Color which changed the way of people looked at the art of seeing colour. It incorporated many mind-bending optical illusions and visual exercises to engage with the reader and help to explain his theories. The key points that Josef develops in his literature explain the way his understands colour and how he believes that we should also. He explains that “we can hear a single tone but rarely do we see a single colour unrelated to other colours”, so colour is always related to another colour. There is always some sort of connection between one colour and its neighbour. This quote links to how Josef believed that colour is best taught through experience. This is one of the key ways in which he developed a different understanding of colour and he believes that unless you experiment and take the time to work with colour you will never fully understand how one colour works with another and how the quantity of a colour can change the way that is appears. 

Example of Josef Albers colour squares

Klein blue:

Internation Klein Blue is a distinctive ultramarine which was first mixed by Yves Klein (born in France) and was known as a trademark colour in 1957. It is a deep blue hue that is based on the consideration of pure space and portrays the feeling of something beyond what can be touched or seen by any human being. Klein would take the International Kelin Blue and paint canvases completely in the colour making the viewing audience question the meaning behind the work using block colour. To create the paintings he would use rollers and sponges. None of Kleins painting were given titles but when he died in 1962 his widow Rotgut Kelin-Moquay developed a numbering system to all of the known monochromes of blue using the label IKB 1 leading all the way up to IKB 194. The sequence however did not in any respect reflect their chronological order. The letters IKB used for the numbering system stand for International Klein Blue. The production of all of these monochromes of blue were explained by Klein as a spiritual and a marketable activity. He furthered this explanation in one of his exhibitions in Milan when displaying 11 of the same monochromes all at different prices as they represented a different spirit. a quote taken from Stich explains this theory, 'Each blue world of each painting, although the same blue and treated in the same way, presented a completely different essence and atmosphere. None resembled any other - no more than pictoral moments resemble each other - although all were of the same superior and subtle nature (marked by the immaterial)  The most sensational observation was from the "buyers". They chose among the eleven exhibited paintings, each in their own way, and each paid the requested price. The prices were all different, of course.'

The word foundations is accented by being surrounded in the klein blue 'F' which gives the viewer the impression that foundations is what the poster is about. The large 'F' is designed to look 3D and is highlighted by the klein blue colour to allow for the 'F' to look this way. 

This poster was created by Stefan björklund on Behance. It was created for the Architecture Sans Frontières. This poster includes the use of klein blue for the scribble which is over the text meaning that it is trying to dominate the page. This is however contradicted by the white space because that is the largest area of the poster. 

This design was created for the Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design identity by Stepan Malovec. The use of Klein blue in the poster is the background colour which is an effective use of the colour to fill the negative space. The writing in a simple white, san serif typeface allows it to stand out boldly and clearly against the klein blue background.  

Klein blue is used for the writing in the background of this poster which is covered with illustrative imagery. The typography doesn't stand out extremely well against the background so the klein blue is difficult to recognise. However the use of the same colour over the top of the typography helps the writing become more noticeable.

The use of Klein blue is the main focus of this poster as it is used to colour the focal point of the poster which is the image of the hand holding the eye. By having this image on a plain white background it allows it to stand out more as it doesn't get lost in a over complicated background. 

The final image is a 'Design for tomorrow', The future of Finnish design and going global. The Graphic Design for this booklet was by TSTO. Klein blue is used throughout the publication and therefore becomes a recognised aesthetic throughout the publication. The use of the simple, san serif type on the front cover and throughout the publication works well as a contrast to the klein blue making it stand out and be clear to read. 

RGB v CMYK:

RGB is red, green and blue where as CMYK is cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) and they are colour modes that can be used on screen and when printing in colour. The RGB colour mode uses many different quantities and variations of the base colours red, green and blue to create pretty much every other colour that can be thought of due to red, green and blue being additive colours. RGB is usually used for computer monitors and other screen displays and the reason that it is used so much is because the combination of those three colours allows for the widest selection of other colours. CMYK on the other hand uses subtractive colours rather than additive colours. This basically means that the more colours you put together the darker the colour created is going to be. As you add colours together light is removed or absorbed creating other colours but it is not until you add black that the colour is fully removed from the picture. CYMK is not used much anymore however it is still very popular in the professional printing industry.

The use of colour in graphic design:

There are various reasons why the use of colour is important with in graphic design as it is a huge part of designs that are created and therefore is important to get correct. One of the main reasons that it is important is because its essential to get it right when branding an organisation or company. Colour plays a significant role in the way a brand is perceived by the viewer and is important when trying to specify a brand to a certain target audience. This can be very difficult to get correct as colour within graphic design can be extremely subjective as the way it is viewed and portrays to one person may be completely different to the way that someone else interprets the use of colour with in a design. It is therefore very important for graphic designs to know and understand colour theory. With the information that colour theory provides graphic designers an gain the knowledge of what colours work the best together and also which colours stereotypically represent which kind of brands. One of the most iconic places to understand the use of colour theory and how colours are formed was in the 1920s - the 1930s by the Bauhaus. The staff in the Bauhaus would experiment and create colour theories on which colours evoke which moods and emotions. This is an important part of using the correct colour as you want the viewers and clients to gain the feelings and emotions that suite the brand rather than associating the brand with emotions that are felt due to other colours. 

It is also important not to just follow colour trends that are popular at the time that a design is being made. This is because trends are not forever and they age and become outdated meaning that if a design is made using a trend that is popular at the time the design will also become outdated when the colour does. Another issue with the use of colour trends is that many different pieces of work by different designers will begin to all look similar due to the use of the same popular colour. This would mean that there is no individuality in designs as the use of the same colour would take away any originality that the design may have possessed. 

Colour is one of the first things that stands out when looking at piece of design work. This therefore is one of the main elements that will stick in a persons memory of the piece of graphic design which they have viewed and therefore must be portrayed in the way it is wanted to be remembered.