Lately I have found the online TED conferences to be a great way to hear really intellectual and inspiring speakers. Last time I visited the TED website, I was struck by a guy named Seth Godin who is an entrepreneur and blogger who thinks about the marketing of ideas in the digital age. In his speech he talks about his website, "This is Broken." For the full talk go to: http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_this_is_broken_1.html I have used a couple of the examples from his TED talk slideshow to illustrate the good and bad uses of contrast.
Example 1: Effective use of contrast in Design
The example above humorously contrasts the attention of the dog to that owner. Its nice that the authorities in Vancouver have decided to take this approach. The place in the background is beautiful. Signage that normally would take away from the serenity of this scene instead lends to it's charm.
Example 2: Poor use of contrast in Design
What was this guy thinking? This shows a broken design in action. The important information "that the bridge is out ahead" is in small print, while the "sharp edges" of the sign seem to be where the major emphasis is being placed. The contract between the largeness of the text describing the sharp edges and the small text about the bridge does not communicate where the true danger lies. Contrast is suppose to alert us to what is important. If one uses it in counterintuitive ways they risk being misunderstood.
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