London Contrast

I spy with my little eye ...

The city of London is full of things that catch your eye. Street signs, posters, even people can have something about them that you notice automatically. This is partly due to the concept of contrast. Contrast is the element of design that is mean to catch people's eye. Make them take an initial look at whatever the object you are designing is. Then hopefully after this initial look that what to keep looking because what caught their eye initially is interesting. Around London contrast runs rampant. We can see some example of contrast in the photos I took. The contrasting red and blue colors of the underground sign make it instantly recognizable and visible, even at night. The contrast of the beautifully colored hijabs the women are wearing against their completely black robes makes the colors of the head covering that much more vibrant and noticeable. Lastly, in the picture to the right we see an advertisement for one of the local cafes. The reason it caught my eye and probably the reason they design the sign this way Is because the contrast of the different letter fonts interest the eye and causes them to pause and look for a moment. This technique is used in every aspect of our lives. Life is design.

I See Blackletter

Blackletter is EVERYWHERE!

You can't walk a block without seeing some sort of blackletter writing, be it in the name of a pub or a play poster. This type of typography, shown in the pictures above, is called blackletter. The blackletter style is instilled in London's history. The two pictures above are of very different subjects. The one on the top is part of the scenery to a ride in the Cadbury Factory in Birmingham, England. The object on the bottom is a piece of architecture displayed in the Museum of London from the time before the Great Fire occurred in 1666. Hundreds of years separate the two objects and yet we see a similarity between them. I find it amazing that something as simple as a writing style can help form the identity of a city throughout history.