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Think "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" to consider the impact constrast has on our emotions. Two different races and two different genders are just one way to develop this principle in our work...

"There is no such thing as talent. What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way."
Winslow Homer

The only way you can read the type on this page is through contrast. The black type against the white screen is contrast. The application is automatic, and you can't avoid it. As soon as you make a mark on any format, you have contrast. "Ah-ha!" you might say - "I don't have to work at this principle of design! The work is done as soon as I make my mark!"

Well...you're almost right; however, to just use a line or a word on a page is not the most that can be done with contrast. Contrast is also leveraged by the use of every element of design. Remember we're delivering a graphic message. The use of contrast is perhaps the one principle that needs the most care, since it could deliver the message with more impact than any other principle in graphic design.

Contrast can be the muscle behind the message. Some of the most powerful images in history have been done with high-contrast. This means that there have been very few gradations of value created within the image. Some contrasts are also very subliminal - but no less powerful. Think of one of your worst days. It can be hectic, noisy, nerve-wracking. Your desire might to escape and listen to some mellow music (no cymbals, please!), and to have a nice, soft chair to settle into. You're desiring a contrast to your chaotic day.

There are several ways to show contrast. The one mentioned previously would be to use high-contrast - a dark object in a light setting, or a light object in a dark setting. Another way to show contrast would be with contradiction. If you decide to use just one word in your message, what is that word, and how would you display it? In the example, you can see the use of type to show contrast. The word, "Peace" in Stencil typeface may give several messages, depending on where the word is displayed. In sending a message to the military, it might be totally appropriate. The contrast of the concept of peace displayed with a typeface that is normally used in signage is enough of a jolt to get someone's attention. Add a few soft leaves in the background and you have even more of a contrast. This image might send a different message, even though the same typeface is being used.

Using color for contrast is common. The most used colors for Christmas greeting cards are red and green. Agents for this market discourage any other colors, unless it's blue and gold or silver to depict a traditional scene. Green and red, if you know your color combinations, are contrasting colors on the color wheel.

Using contrast in illustrations is common. I remember a photo used for an insurance company in the late 1980s. The series showed women and their mothers, a contrast in the young and their elders. Size is another tool. Remember Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger together in films? Together, they provide comedic contrast, as one is short and round and the other is tall and trim.

Once you begin to look for contrast in events and objects around you, you might not be able to stop. You'll see the contrast in ads with people who used to be overweight, wearing their pants stretch out to show how the waistline used to fit around the Empire State Building. You'll see why hunters use orange vests in the woods. You'll hear the subtle tones of a key change in your favorite music.

Begin to become aware of the difference between subtle and high contrast. Use this awareness in how you present your message to see if you don't develop a finer sense of clarity and economy in your presentations.

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