Striking Examples For Designing With Black and White
Black and white can seem like a very inflexible palette, but believe me when I say, it’s actually quite the opposite. In fact, black and white is incredible versatile, easy to use, and effective as anything!
Whether you are designing posters, flyers or book covers. It is utterly important to create something striking, yet not overwhelming.
In this list we’ll look at stunning monochromatic designs and hopefully you’ll quickly begin to notice how flexible this small palette really is, and just how easy it is for you to kickstart your own black and white designs. So, let’s get started.
Generate Movement With Bold Lines
Describing a stationary object as having a lot of ‘movement’ can sound a little odd, but check out this design from Paperjam and note how it uses warped bold lines to create a sense of movement and depth. By overlapping the type with the graphic lines, this piece creates the illusion of the type being sucked into the design, giving the piece as a whole a very immersive effect.
Create Elegant Illustration-Based Patterns
We tend to think of patterns as colorful, geometric things, but check out this monochromatic design by Pharaoh that instead uses elegant and detailed illustrations to form a branded pattern. The combination of mysterious, beautifully drawn elements and the sharp black and white palette make this branding kit effective and striking.
Divide Your Design With Sharp Lines
Got a lot of information to include on one page? Consider breaking that info up into separate blocks by using sharp, fine lines, just as this example by Amanda Jane Jones does. This piece divides the elegant monochromatic type and imagery into a modular grid which creates a strong structure and very neat composition.
Channel Film Noir
If you’re looking for a way to add a lot of cinematic drama to your design, check out this movie poster by Kate Marie Koyama Design. By pairing monochromatic photographs, bold, stacked sans serif type, and pronounced stripe cut outs, this design channels the dark tones and venetian blind shadows of film noir to create a mysterious, engrossing design.
Use Lines To Create Stunning Patterns
Lines are incredibly versatile graphic elements, and when paired with a stark black and white palette, there’s no stopping them from being really striking. This design by Demian Conrad makes the most of this device by using a mix of straight and curvy lines to frame and draw attention toward the title type.
Quick note: If you’re using busy monochromatic lines like this example, be sure to balance it out with blocks of white or black (again, as this example does) to prevent the design from becoming overwhelming.
Compare and Contrast
The beauty of black and white color schemes is that you can take your design and simply invert the colors and you have a whole new (still functional and effective) design in your hands. This invitation design by Robot Food does just that by having half the invitation as white on black and the other half inverted as black on white, creating a bold contrast between the two designs.
Detailed Illustrations vs. Sharp Graphics
This design by My Little Fabric pairs an elegant and detailed illustration with a crisp white transparent frame and elegant type to create a super simple, classic design. The contrast of the sharp graphic against the traditional serifs and illustrations keeps this design fresh and modern, while still retaining that vintage-inspired charm
Don’t Forget the White (or Black) Space
White space is a magical tool in the world of design, but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t always have to be white. In the case of this design by Philippe Apeloig, the white space is black, but it acts just like any other piece white space out there would – it frames, declutters, simplifies and lets the design ‘breathe’, putting the focus back on the important elements, like that clever dimensional typographical title.
Use Monochromatic Textures
Textures are one of the most ubiquitous design elements around, and you can easily (and effectively) adjust them to fit within your new monochromatic palette. This design by Axel Lokrantz Månson uses a monochromatic marbling texture to add a simple, unique effect to what is otherwise an extremely simple design.
Make It Dramatic
This design by Metric72 brings a whole lot of drama to the table. This poster manages to pack a real punch by using a perfect combo of a striking black and white palette, a powerfully constructed image, bold leading lines, and an atypical diagonal alignment in place of the typical horizontal/vertical alignment.
Over to You – Get Started With Your Own Black and White Palettes!
A black and white palette is a classic for a reason, you can work it to become just about anything you want it to be – classic, sharp, modern, or traditional. All it takes is the right application, the right intent, and you’re ready to go.
So, next time you’re sitting down and getting ready to design a poster, invitation, or brand kit, just take time to consider cutting your color palette right down to just black and white. It might be a bit of a challenge at first, but trust that the end result can really pack a punch.
Article source: https://designschool.canva.com/blog/black-and-white/?utm_source=FloatingBar&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=DesignSchool
Note from us:
When talking about posters, business cards, flyers, and so forth you have to remember that a reputable printing company is required to make your amazing design a reality.
We recommend Asset Print, if you are in Cape Town and surrounds. Visit the Asset Print website today at www.assetprint.co.za.
