Repetition - Pattern, An Essential Element Of Design

Repetition: the recurrence of an action or event.

Repetition, in design, can have a varied effect.  When large objects are repeated it can be shocking... like Stone Hendge shocking.  Small objects repeated make the eye look for a pattern, for instance in tile work.  In architecture, repetition is often present and unnoticed when the pattern created by the repetition is traditional to our culture.  When traveling to a different culture, vivid new patterns appear in every surface.  Searching for repetition when you travel to another culture can offer insight into a cultures history, religion, and people.

Support Public Art

Have you ever gone to a large city and noticed the amount of sculptures, gardens, and murals there are?  Why is all of this great public art in large cities?  It might be that large cities have a budget for public arts, and they have a large platform that many tourists and visitors pass by and view.  Public Art is an important feature in all communities though, it can bring people together or just start conversation.  Smaller cities and towns need the effects of public art just as much a large cities, so why is there less public art in smaller communities?  Rally behind your local public arts projects and embrace the beauty and conversation that will follow.

Studio Joie De V

Studio Joie De V, bringing an upbeat approach to classical pilates.  Calle Bonita Studios (CBS) is excited to present Studio Joie De V's re-vamped website.  CBS created the web design in collaboration with Allison Howie, owner of Studio Joie De V.  Allison's light filled studio is an amazing space to clear your mind and get to work on the Pilates reformer.  With Allison's clear vision and clean esthetic, CBS was able to create a website that introduces the peaceful space before actually stepping foot into the studio.  Visit www.studiojoiedev.com for more information and to sign up for a class with Allison.

Word Flow Yoga

Word Flow Yoga, and inspired space for movers and shakers to share words, movement, and community.  Curated by the amazingly talented Cat Walker, Word Flow Yoga is la lifestyle blog that will no doubt inspire us to live a more practiced life in more ways than just yoga.  Calle Bonita Studios is so proud to have collaborated with Word Flow Yoga on their logo, and to provide a unique esthetic to convey Word Flow Yoga's fresh and encouraging voice.

FORM

A shape, a body, a mold, a mode; form.  Form, as a noun, is based on the outer line of a form.  When a form is translated into a three-dimensional shape, shadow and highlights appear creating visual interest.  When a form is translated in two-dimensional, shadow and highlights must be created to add visual interest.  When form is thought of in such a minimalist way, the objects arounds us can take on new meaning.  Letting form take the foreground can be just as interesting as form being the vessel for shadow and light.

IMPRESSIONS

Impressions: A strong effect produced on the intellect, feeling, conscience, etc.

Working in clay is a humbling reminder of how easy it is to make an impression.  It is also a reminder of the amount of skill it takes to create the desired impression.  Physical impressions are on almost every surface that we interact with: the grout lines in the floor we are standing on, the texture of the walls, the tread on the tires that take us from place to place.  Some of these impressions are more functional than decorative, but they all started by altering an object/surface/idea that was flat and non-descript.

BONNIE ESTATES

Logo and label for small production winery.  Calle Bonita Studios created the Bonnie Estates logo and wine label with a modern and playful feel to attract the millennial wine enthusiast.

LookUp

Research.  Research.  Research.  To create with intent, you must have done some research on the subject matter or medium in which you are creating.  Sure creating with no purpose can be freeing and in the moment, but will that work have the lasting impression that all great work does?  Research can only help develop a thought or an idea, so why not use research to develop design too?

DUALITY

Duality:  the quality or state of having two parts.

Duality.  Is there a better time to talk about duality than mid-week?  Just like in human nature, duality is a constantly reoccurring element of design.  Even in early religious art, the theme of duality is a focal point.

Duality in art and design makes a statement.  Sparking conversation can be an effective strategy in branding.  Although, make sure you are sparking the right conversation with your statement.

MESITA

Mesita, meaning little table in Spanish.  This young, small scale, vineyard creates beauty by cultivating less than desirable soil to work for their vines. 

Logo and wine label created by Calle Bonita Studios.

SYMMETRY

Symmetry:  the quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis.

When something looks visually pleasing there is often a level of symmetry involved.  Perfect symmetry though, can confuse the eye.  Adding a focal point to direct the eye is essential if there is an element of focus that should be created.  Symmetry can also be lost if there is no object to focus on.  Don’t let perfect symmetry take over the image.  Let symmetry contribute to the overall goal, but not be the leading scorer.

VISION

Developing a clear vision can be a challenge for both designer and client.  Some clients can come to you with a clear vision.  You have two options then, create exactly that vision or create a version of their vision developed beyond their expectation.  In the end it’s up to the client to choose their vision for their brand, but showing a few options can never hurt.

Pattern Me Pretty

Pattern: The composition of structural features such as color, line, texture, and shape.

Patterns are everywhere.  I mean everywhere!  Patterns can be composed, in nature, in science, in mathematics, in poems, and even in negative space.  There are so many possible inspirations for developing a pattern.  Where to start?!  My processes stars by deciding if the pattern will be a primary pattern or a secondary pattern.  My next step is letting my creativity run wild with inspiration while keeping the project objective in prospective.

#DesignGoals

Goals: A desired result achieved by implementing a plan to reach a final objective.

What is the goal of your current design project?  The answer should come easily, but often it doesn't.  Design goals are often multi-faceted.  We can create work that solves on goal, but does it create problems in the larger picture?  Broadening your focus and critically solving each design challenge with the larger context in prospective, will save time and money.

def. of CREATIVITY: PLAY

People have defined creativity before.  Is creativity as easily defined as we may think?  No.  The act of being creative is as diverse as every person who has had a creative thought.  There is an infinite number of mediums to express creativity, so play.  Play to create.  Creativity is not madness.  Madness is not fulfilling creativity.

PERSPECTIVE

Perspective:  Any method by which a three-dimensional space is represented on a flat surface.  Linear, aerial (or atmospheric), isometric, cabinet, and reverse perspective are most commonly used.

The air that we see in the paintings of the old masters is never the air that we breathe. - Edgar Degas

Having perspective in visual design, is creating visual context for the viewer.  By creating the appropriate perspective you are able to depict a scene with greater realism, and hopefully creating more than just a visual experience.  When an artist has the ability to create great perspective the viewer can ofter feel drawn or pulled in to the artwork, or even that they are placed within the artwork.  Each medium of art has many was of creating perspective, but it is a true skill to develop overwhelming real perspective.

INFORMAL BALANCE

Informal Balance: A casual, unpredictable distribution of visual weight which does not use opposing halves.  It is usually devised by intuition rather than analysis, and in visual esthetic design, it may be used more frequently than symmetrical and asymmetrical balancing schemes.

Most of us try to achieve balance in our lives, whether it is physical or emotional.  If only we looked up every once in a while, we’d realize that balance is all around us; it might be informal, but it’s there.  Great branding allows us to envision a certain brand or company’s products embedded in our own lives.  One technique to achieve this is informal balance.  The juxtaposition is not blatantly symmetrical or explicit, but natural.  It looks like the product or brand being sold could just slide right in to your life without conflict.  Sounds easy, but even informal balance is designed with thought and intention. You just need to find it.

Grouping Proximity, Contiguity Grouping

Proximity Grouping: A special case of similarity grouping in which it is predicted that things which occur together in space will appear to belong together and those which are separated in space will appear to belong apart.  It is grouping by similarity of location.

Contiguity Grouping:  A special case of similarity grouping in which it is predicted that things which occur together in time will appear to belong together and those which occur at different times will appear to belong apart.  It is grouping by similarity of occurrence in time.

Grouping is a vital tool in branding when trying to develop behavioral conditioning.  When you have established behavioral conditioning, your customer knows what to expect from your brand; which can be anything from product attributes, brand mission, featured retailers, or brand values.  The most successful brands have conditioned their customers to expectations.