Journal #7: Form & Color

Color can be used many different ways in design. Color can be used to elicit a certain time or place (white for snow; warm tones for a sense; etc.), to evoke an emotional response (warm tones are generally happy or alert, and dar tones are generally sad or sleepy), or to draw attention to a specific part of a design. In the example below, color is used to both elicit time and place. The warm tones let us know that it is either during a sunrise or a sunset, and the blues and greens draw an ocean beneath the suns rays.

Form is the external configuration of a shape, line, brush strokes, etc. Where form differs from shape, is in the number of dimensions. Form is 3D, meaning shapes will have sides and not just edges. If the design uses light in some way, form will then have shadows and highlights in a way that you just can't have with shape. In the example below, we can see a comparison of the shape of a square, and the form of a cube.