EXAMPLE 7

 

CHARACTERISATION

The combination of our bulb and smiley face symbols gives the image a cheerful personality.

 

This variation on the theme adds some humour to the idea with a light bulb hairdo that could be used to suggest a product range of colored bulbs.

 

OVERLAPPING IMAGES

Simply overlapping our light bulb image not only creates a harmonious visual effect with its use of transparent colors but also says something about the nature of the object.

 

THE SPARK OF INSPIRATION

The technique of overlapping images can provide that spark of inspiration needed to generate an idea. Two of our images were overlapped and framed by a hexagon whose shape suggested the outline of a box. This inspired the development of a logo for a graphic design company called 'Lightbox Design' (a lightbox is a tracing frame used by graphic designers).

 

DEVELOPING THE IDEA

Once you get the basic idea for a design, you need to refine and develop it to maximise its communication and impact. To this end, a grey backdrop was added to increase the brightness of the image while the jagged 'Matisse' font was used to echo the sharp points of the spark.

 

REFINING THE IDEA

Graduated tone was then used to generate the form of the bulb and to suggest the glow of light. The outlines of the lightbox and light bulb were changed from black to white to brighten their images, while the outline of the font was substituted by a drop shadow to lighten its weight.

 

ARRIVING AT A SOLUTION

Finally, color was applied to the design making the backdrop redundant. Two tones of blue were used to represent the transparency of glass (a material common to both the light bulb and the light box) while a counterchange of red and yellow (fire colors) was used to illuminate the spark of inspiration. The colors of the typography were borrowed from the image to unify the design.