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“Simplicity
is the core of good art. But achieving simplicity is very difficult.
I tell my students that if they came to my studio and saw all the
sketches I throw in the garbage, they'd realize how difficult it is
to create something simple.”
Luba Lukova, winner of the 1999 How International Design Competition
Best of Show award, as quoted in How magazine, April 2000.
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For the past few weeks we have been concentrating on messing things
up. First we mangled our text placement, then we moved to roughing
up text, lines, photos ... nothing was safe.
This time we are headed in the opposite direction. Rough is not always
right. Sometimes neat, clean and straight is the only answer. But
that does not have to mean dull or standard.
The April 2000 issue of How magazine
(a well respected and popular magazine for the design world) features
the winners of the How Design 2000 International design competition.
A surprising number of the category winners were dead straight, clean
and plain. Of course, that is not to implicate that the designers
spent less time creating such perfection. Clean and simple design
is often tougher than any other. Color becomes much more important
and balance is crucial.
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Take a look at the very simple examples at the left. The first sample
is very plain—quite acceptable. But in the second sample, with
the simple addition of a faint hairline under each menu item, notice
how the list of words becomes a unit. Add hairlines to topic headings
on the same page and you have created a style. Frame your photos with
the same line, divide text with vertical hairlines, direct visitors
with faint directional lines, and you have a complete look that can
unify an entire site.
I have gathered some ideas and techniques to help you work with straight
lines without sacrificing design originality and energy. As with any
style, "straight style with life" takes time to master.
But the reward is delivering a product that makes your most conservative
clients comfortable yet allows you to weave your style into the work.
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