Black and White, De Stijl, Minimalistic and Art Deco styles.
“Why would IBM make an ad where a woman is having a cock in her mouth?”
Style boards are an important tool for and artist. Find my answer below how I would be using these boards. And maybe also you’d think of an answer to the IBM question.
Today, my goal is to create more or less twelve boards of moods and twelve boards of styles. These are the first four style boards. Let me tell you more about Black and White, De Stijl, Minimalistic and Art Deco styles.
Black and White
I believe the most important aspect in Black and White style is the strong contrast between dark and light. This way, we will be able to recognize the picture that has no toned variations. And that is what makes us like monochrome art, the insight “O, this is a picture of kissing lips.”
Black and White makes the strongest contrast with one another. Black most commonly creates the feeling of power and strength, while white is the space embodying purity and light. You could continue pushing the contrast by introducing other opposites, like politics and masculinity/femininity. Imagine a black and white movie scene with a masculine two-meter tall black man debating with a small feminine white woman about meat and vegan diet. That would be a scene with three strong contrasts.
De Stijl
Red, blue, yellow (the primary colors) together with black, white, clean lines and right angles. This is what the De Stijl style is made of.
The style was introduced in Denmark after the chaotic cubist art era. De Stijl, which means Style in Dutch, is used to bring order to the art and advocate a visual language consisting of precise geometric forms and a perfect line.
To master this style, you must use black lines between the primary colors. This will set the strong colors apart from each other and bring the harmony to the object that you would like to design.
Minimalistic
The most modern style of the four here is the style called Minimalistic. It is a style that’s still regularly in use. Minimalism is about prioritizing the essential. A minimalist building, object, or interior design is stripped to its core function, realized using limited materials, neutral colors, simple forms, and avoiding excess ornamentation to achieve a pure form of elegance.
In graphics and arts, flat design is recognized as minimalistic. Objects are created using two to four colors without any color variations and gradients.
The most important character to minimalistic arts and graphics is to be able to create the message with as little as possible. Good minimalistic art has a story. Please look at the woman's profile. That is the first thing you see, a woman. Right after, you will see a bird. After what you’ll understand, she is having a cock in her mouth. You might then think, why would IBM make a such an advertisement?
Make sure to hid insights in your minimalistic art and design. That will make your work interesting.
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for Arts Décoratifs, is characterized by warm yellow/gold color on a cold dark blue. Warm variations between orange and red are also commonly used. This is very important to understand. Not all art styles are dependent on specific colors, but Art Deco is. You cannot make interior design, calling it Art Deco if you use green as your main dominant color.
Another rule for the style is, it must give you a feeling of glamour and luxury. If you are not getting the feeling, please let the designer know he is not using the Art Deco as it has meant to be used.
I personally love Art Deco. I enjoy the Art Deco fashion. The long gala dresses, top silk hat, canes and alcohol cocktails full of soft bubbles. If you like movies and Art Deco, the obvious choice for you to watch is Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'. The cinematic version of this literary classic is an extravaganza of Art Deco opulence and has inspired us to don diamonds and take a further look at the distinctive 20th century design movement.
Cyberpunk style, to some extent, is inspired of Art Deco. I’ll write more about cyberpunk in my next post.
The pictures used in these Raccoonbox style boards are collected on Pinterest. You are free to use the board for your liking. But, I kindly ask you to not modify the boards and leave Raccoonbox brand mark visible and creating a link to Raccoonbox Production website www.raccoonbox.com
Most of these images and the sources to the original creator you’d find on my Pinterest account. Search for Konstantin Nikkari on Pinterest.
So how would I use these Raccoonbox style boards? I would show them to you and ask: Is this the style
- You would like me to use when designing your website?
- You would like me to decor your office with?
- You would like to see in the movie we are filming?
- You would like me to dress myself into this evening?
What would you answer?