Assigned 2/13; due 2/15 by 11 p.m.
This week, explore your publication’s use of color. What do they use for body copy, headlines, cutlines, display text, etc.? It’s not always black. One of your goals is to get your hands on a PDF of their actual color palette/guidelines. As usual, don’t just tell me that they use various colors and where, but also discuss why. Analysis is important, and you must look for patterns. Like typography, color is used to organize material and provide visual cues (and clues) for the reader, and its use should be decipherable. Reverse-engineer their system. Address specific techniques/strategies/approaches used, and why the overall effect works or doesn’t. Also consider and address the overall and cumulative effects and how color use affects hierarchy/organization, mood/personality and content. And don’t forget to consider photographs in the equation. The last component of this week’s entries is to analyze less tangible factors and effects—what qualities does its color use bring to the table? What perceived meaning does it add, and how does it affect reader perception?