A museum guard's comment ruined my whole palette approach

Tbh I was in the Chicago Art Institute last month staring at this Rothko, and a guard said the colors only work because they fight each other. I always tried to make palettes that harmonize, like everything sits nice together. After that I went home and rebuilt a logo set with clashing hues on purpose, and it actually popped way harder. Has anyone else tried using tension between colors on purpose, or am I just overthinking a throwaway comment?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_chen3d ago

Tension in design is like salt in cooking, you need just enough to wake things up without ruining the dish. I started testing this years ago by pairing a warm red with a cold blue in a website header, and the contrast made both colors feel stronger than they did alone. The trick is controlling the fight, give one color more space and the other just enough presence to keep things interesting.

rayc832d ago

Oh man, that's such a good way to put it... I see that same balance everywhere, like in music where a quiet verse makes the loud chorus hit harder. Too much salt and the whole meal's ruined, but you're right, just a pinch makes everything pop.