Contrast

The LP cover for the album Remain in Light by the Talking Heads, was designed by Tibor Kalman, and is a great example of how to use contrast in design. Most obvious is the contrast in color, as he covered the band members faces in red pixelated paint. Aside from using a contrasting color, he also makes a clear break with convention he used very poor refinement in covering the faces up, creating even more contrast in the way of form. Not only did Kalman make a statement with the remarkable contrast between the faces and the colors, he also manipulated the typeface to make it stand out more. He did so by inverting the A:s in the band name. But with the already stark contrast in color and form, the change in the typeface is not as obvious.

Wine labels are important communicators and greatly influence the buyer as to what wine bottle to buy. That is why it is important for the wine maker to have a label that stands out and has received proper consideration in its design elements. This label for the wine Aquinas however, has not received much of this consideration as it in fact seeks to create harmony in its design. The name in the top is perfectly balanced by the text box in the bottom and it uses only the slightest of contrasting queues in the color scheme to highlight the name and grape variety. Chances are that a customer at a wine shop will not spend much time contemplating this wine bottle for purchase as it fails to communicate its excellence to the consumer. It may be true that the intent is to give a distinguished and elegant appearance, communicating a sophisticated wine, but if this was the intent, then the design should have at least used some embellishments to make it communicate this message better. As it stands it merely gives a bland and dull impression without any strong contrasting attributes to make it stand out more and give it a sense of identity.