Contrast

Contrast in composition occurs when two related elements are different. The greater the difference the greater the contrast. Contrast adds variety to the total design and creates unity. It is what draws the viewer's eye into the composition and helps to guide the viewer around the art piece. As contrast diminishes, monotony is approached.

Contrasting Colours

Contrast creates emphasis in printed and graphic objects, in web pages or in videos. It can be developed through the use of contrasting colours. Contrast is the perceived difference between two adjacent colours. Because white and black are not really colours, they are said to represent an achromatic contrast. Black and white also represent the highest level of contrast. Complementary colours from the colour wheel represent high chromatic contrast.

Also known as contrasting colours, complementary colours are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel. Selecting contrasting colours is useful when you want to make the colours stand out more vibrantly. If you are composing a graphic using lemon yellow, using a blue background will make the yellow stand out more. The same sort of effect happens with warm (yellows, oranges, reds) and cool (blues, greens, purples) colours. The warm colours are perceived as advancing out of the screen slightly, and the cool colours recede.

Coloured backgrounds that include patterns and textures can be especially problematic. Keep things simple. Apple's famous iPod advertisements were great examples of contrast. They were also very effective as they are instantly recognizable. The ads expertly used contrast to focus the viewer's attention on the music player. The ads featured a silhouetted character on a brightly coloured background. The iPod and earphones appear in white and stand out clearly against the silhouettes and coloured backgrounds.

Contrast with Size

Big and small elements of the same type, such as big and small images and big and small type are the most obvious uses of size to create contrast. Contrasting white space, or the physical size of the piece, with another element of the design is another method to achieve contrast.

For more tips and examples of using varying lines to create more dynamic and interesting compositions, see this article.

TEST YOURSELF

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