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Joe Sparano's quote, "Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent." seems to be more famous than the author himself. A Google search shows more results for the quote than the author himself. The reason this quote seems to be gaining in popularity could be the statement is very realistic. Before reading Robin William's book, The Non-Designer's Design Book, I could not see the transparent structure behind many everyday designs and images (Williams, 2008). **Color** This fact brings to mind Piet Mondrian's vivid paintings where the artist uses these primary colors. Mondrian believed in simplicity, and this simplicity shows in his work, ("Piet mondrian," ). I have seen his paintings in books and in museums, but the transparent plan of his design had escaped me before now.



Interior designers also use the color wheel in the planning of their designs. In the image on the right the designer has chosen to use complementary colors, colors across from each other on the color wheel, in this design. Notice how the blue of the bathtub complements the orange wall paint.

In this﻿ image, the photographer has chosen these items using a triad on the color wheel (cite textbook)





The color wheel is also a feature on many computers. White can be  added to a color by moving in closer onto the wheel. This is called a “tint” <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> (Williams, 2008).

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The left side of the bar can be used to add black, resulting in <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> what is known as a "hue" (Williams, 2008).

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">**Pattern** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Another design feature that has been transparent to me until now is pattern. Digital Web Magazine <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> defines pattern as "the repetition of shape or form. It can also reflect the underlying structure of a <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> design by organizing the surfaces or objects in the compositio <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">n, (McClurg-Genevese, 2005). <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The use of pattern can be observed in this rose window. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Notice how the window is composed of the repetition of <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">several shapes and colors. = = = = =<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pattern and Color = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> can be seen in this image. The pattern of tiles shows repetition of both shape and color. Notice the colors chosen, orarange and green are corresponding on the color wheel. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> =<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Repetition = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Repetition works with pattern to make the artwork seem active. The <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">repetition of elements of design creates unity within the artwork <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ("Elements & principles,").

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">**Repetition and Color** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">This repetition of the different hues of red <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">unites this room well.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">**Repetition** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Designers of patchwork quilts use shapes <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">like the triangles shown here to create <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">intricate designs. In the pattern below <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">the repetition becomes more apparent. = = = =

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Repetition, Color, and Pattern = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The use of the color wheel is apparent in the selection <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> of colors for this image.The designer has chosen a <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">“complement triad” (textbook), wherein the yellow <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">and green contrasts with the pinkish red of the bench <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> and table. The redshades are then repeated as accent <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> colors throughout the image. Notice the wreath, the <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">lamp, and the begonias. The floor pattern of squares is <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">also repeated in the quilt and the window frames.



<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Williams, R. (2008). The non-designer's design book. Berkeley,CA: Pearson Educaton. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Elements & principles of design. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.n4hccs.org/projects/kidspace/E-P.htm <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">McClurg-Genevese, J.D. (2005, August 15). The elements of design. Digital Web Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.digital-web.com/articles/elements_of_design/ <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Piet mondrian. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: Piet mondrian. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm [NOTE: Italicize "Piet mondrian"]

PARENTHETICAL CITATION: ("Piet mondrian," )