As those of you who frequent this blog may know, I love creating patterns, and using the patterns I create in the watercolors I paint and the stationery I design for my custom invitation company, Invites by Andrea. Every Friday I even feature two of the patterns I've designed, occasionally including an image of how I've used that pattern on stationery. Well, for the next couple of days, I'm going to show off several photographs of samples I've made, categorized by how I've incorporated pattern into the design.
Today, let's look at several samples where I used two different colors within the pattern to reflect the color scheme of the invitation. Using more than one color is an easy way to liven up a pattern and give it some emphasis, especially if the colors are so drastically different that one color really pushes out and comes forward. Using complementary colors, like I do in the example below, makes the pattern seem really energetic and adds instant punch to the design.
Using two colors is also a great way to tie any other papers used into the actual printed invitation. Below, I used black and gold as the colors for the pattern so that it would instantly connect with the metallic black paper used as a background for each stationery item, as well as the gold metallic envelopes.
A more unique way to incorporate two colors into a pattern is to shown the pattern and background as a reverse of itself, as I did in the example below, where the pattern is shown both as teal on a white background, and white on a faded teal background. The white pattern turns into part of the background of the invitation, while the darker teal strip of pattern stands out as being in the foreground with the text.
The design below turned the pattern into a less obvious decorative component by blending it in with the colors of the background. While the background fades from green to pink, so does the pattern, ensuring that it won't draw too much attention away from the more important part of the invitation - the text.
Sometimes I'll even combine two different patterns into a design, like I did with the invitation below. The patterns are very similar and were created with the same basic aesthetic, so they go well together. Then, I highlighted the subtle difference by giving each pattern its own color, to help it stand out that there are two different patterns at play in the same design.
Another option is to use outlines. Here, the main pattern is in cyan, with a thick red outline around it. The proximity of the red and cyan create a sort of vibration that really stands out, since they're almost complements. The color scheme is continued in the most important text, as well, where the cursive font I used was printed in cyan with an outline of red. Because I made the red outline so thick on the pattern, I felt that it needed some more cyan to balance it out, which is why I added the slightly modified (squished) version of the pattern in just cyan going through the middle of the pattern to fill out some of the white space.
Finally, using two colors can really create a sense of foreground and background, especially when you have a pattern that you've repeated in such a way that there is a great deal of overlap. Here, I repeated a strip of pattern three times on the main invitation, and then made the middle strip a brighter, darker color so that it would push forward into the foreground. To further this illusion, I also arranged the middle strip to sit on top of the lighter beige-brown strips on either side of it - otherwise, the light brown would cross over the blue where the patterns overlap, and the depth of the design would become confusion. More saturated, darker colors always seem to push forward in space, so to go along with the reality of depth perception, make sure any overlap doesn't work against that illusion.
Shameless plug time: Love my patterns? Love these designs? I incorporate them into a lot of the artwork I create, from stationery for Invites by Andrea to the watercolors I paint. Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these patterns or download a catalogue pdf (coming soon!). Or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!
Today, let's look at several samples where I used two different colors within the pattern to reflect the color scheme of the invitation. Using more than one color is an easy way to liven up a pattern and give it some emphasis, especially if the colors are so drastically different that one color really pushes out and comes forward. Using complementary colors, like I do in the example below, makes the pattern seem really energetic and adds instant punch to the design.
Using two colors is also a great way to tie any other papers used into the actual printed invitation. Below, I used black and gold as the colors for the pattern so that it would instantly connect with the metallic black paper used as a background for each stationery item, as well as the gold metallic envelopes.
A more unique way to incorporate two colors into a pattern is to shown the pattern and background as a reverse of itself, as I did in the example below, where the pattern is shown both as teal on a white background, and white on a faded teal background. The white pattern turns into part of the background of the invitation, while the darker teal strip of pattern stands out as being in the foreground with the text.
The design below turned the pattern into a less obvious decorative component by blending it in with the colors of the background. While the background fades from green to pink, so does the pattern, ensuring that it won't draw too much attention away from the more important part of the invitation - the text.
Sometimes I'll even combine two different patterns into a design, like I did with the invitation below. The patterns are very similar and were created with the same basic aesthetic, so they go well together. Then, I highlighted the subtle difference by giving each pattern its own color, to help it stand out that there are two different patterns at play in the same design.
Another option is to use outlines. Here, the main pattern is in cyan, with a thick red outline around it. The proximity of the red and cyan create a sort of vibration that really stands out, since they're almost complements. The color scheme is continued in the most important text, as well, where the cursive font I used was printed in cyan with an outline of red. Because I made the red outline so thick on the pattern, I felt that it needed some more cyan to balance it out, which is why I added the slightly modified (squished) version of the pattern in just cyan going through the middle of the pattern to fill out some of the white space.
Finally, using two colors can really create a sense of foreground and background, especially when you have a pattern that you've repeated in such a way that there is a great deal of overlap. Here, I repeated a strip of pattern three times on the main invitation, and then made the middle strip a brighter, darker color so that it would push forward into the foreground. To further this illusion, I also arranged the middle strip to sit on top of the lighter beige-brown strips on either side of it - otherwise, the light brown would cross over the blue where the patterns overlap, and the depth of the design would become confusion. More saturated, darker colors always seem to push forward in space, so to go along with the reality of depth perception, make sure any overlap doesn't work against that illusion.
Shameless plug time: Love my patterns? Love these designs? I incorporate them into a lot of the artwork I create, from stationery for Invites by Andrea to the watercolors I paint. Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these patterns or download a catalogue pdf (coming soon!). Or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!
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