Contrast

In the previous post, we considered Robin Williams’s acronym C. R. A. P. for design principles. In this post, we will consider the first letter which stands for Contrast. According to Williams, the key principle of contrast states that “if two items are not exactly the same, then make them different. Really different.”

Look at the image above. One apple is different from the others. Did you noticed it? Why was it so noticeable? If the apple was green like the other apples but only a slightly darker green, would it have been so noticeable? The reason it is so noticeable is that dark red is so different from light green.

Too often we have changes that are not noticeable. For example, we might use 12 point font for the main text and then use 14 point of the same font. Look at the example below:

Title
Body of text

The difference is not so noticeable and it is not really clear if the change was intentional. Maybe it was a mistake. Now, look at the example below:

Title
Body of text

Noticeable, right? Yes, in this case, the title uses a different font (Verdana), color, a larger font size (18 point) and bold. These changes make the difference noticeable. And the reader will have no trouble understanding that the larger text has a different purpose than the smaller text. Also, in addition to being more noticeable, it is more interesting. And we want to be interesting, right?

To use contrast well, we need to be bold. We shouldn’t be wimps. A wimp is someone who is not willing to take a risk. A wimp is someone who always does the safe thing. In the words of Robin Williams:

DON'T BE A WIMP!