This coaster is using red and green as complementary colors to make the woman the focal point of the piece. Red and green make each other pop, but red is a more striking color than green, which is most likely why she is in a red dress, not vice versa. The color red represents passion, sex, femininity, and power, so it makes sense to have this very feminine woman in red. If her red dress was a “no-brainer” for the artist, then green may have been a “no brainer” as well because red and green are the most compatible, complementary colors each of them have.
In this company name, blue and green are used to make the name more prominent than black. The bright blue and green easily stand out against the black dumpster, but they are easy on the eyes. Blue and green naturally look effortless together, as they are analogous colors, but they still can stand out from the crowd.
These Detroit Lions jerseys and crewneck all use some shade of the same cool toned blue. Details in the jersey use some shade of the same cool gray hue. This use of cool colors creates a cohesiveness for the Lions community. The city of Detroit has an extremely loyal fan base, and the color blue is often associated with loyalty, consistency, and trustworthiness.
The use of golden yellow used in the University of Southern California’s logo brings a warm essence to the university’s brand, reflecting the hot climate in Southern California and its reputation as the “Golden Coast”. The bright red used in their logos gives the school a powerful, passionate essence to reflect their extreme school spirit and fighting Trojan mascot.
The contrast in complementary colors creates the text on this parking sign stand out. The contrast between the brighter, more saturated red and green against the white background also helps the text stand out for the viewer. Most parking signs use contrast in colors (hues, values, saturation) to stand out and catch the eye.
This hotel sign and logo reads “Motel Caramelo'' with a cursive, decorative “C” graphic below. The sign is a blush pink color, while the word “Motel” is a slightly darker shade. The word “Motel” appears in a simple, capitalized sans font, while the word “Caramelo” uses a flirty, cursive font. The “C” emblem’s curly decorative font and design comes to a full circle, satisfying the eye.
This logo uses the space in the circle behind the unicorn to actually create the unicorn's shape. This white or negative space is actively being used to create the unicorn, while the colorful, striped background helps the white space to stand out and hold its own. The active white space behind the logo circle and company name also allows the fine lined text used to stand out without being too bold or overbearing.
This piece of graphic design uses the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci to advertise Red Bull energy drinks as a historical product. Red Bull is fairly universally recognized across the globe, so their use of the Mona Lisa, satirically compares their energy drink to one of the most influential art works of human history.










