The Essentialist

Text 20 Jan Color Models

Today, six chief color models mathematically describe the representation of color. Most of us have come to know the two-dimensional color wheel. While this color plain allows for us to understand color interaction, it fails to actively convey saturation for individual hues. A color solid, described by each of these models as a three-dimensional surface, tries to accurately represent hue, saturation, and brightness.

The six primary models are RGB, CMYK, LAB, HSV, HSL, and NCS. In this first installment, I’d like to explore the RGB model, because of its ubiquity. Cathode ray tube, LCD, plasma, and LED displays all use this model. Computers use it to encode color. In web design, 216 so-called “web-safe” colors exist through RGB hexadecimal values. However, the prevalence of 24-bit displays allows most of us to see a range of 16.7 million colors.

Quote 7 Apr

Having small touches of color makes it more colorful than having the whole thing in color.

— Dieter Rams

Text 4 Apr 1 note How to Render Handsome Halftones

First of all, what is a halftone? Well, as a reprographic technique it simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots or lines, varying either in size or in spacing. Converting your images to a halftone can save you (and your client) printing costs by limiting the job to one color and can add visual interest in the addition of texture to even mundane imagery.

It has its roots in engraving methods, like intaglio, where an artist could reproduce the effect of contour and shading by etching repeated lines and/or dots into a plate. Photo gravure and halftone screens have replaced the engraver in today’s offset printing methods.

Text 21 Feb 2 notes Take a Stab at Stab Binding

When I first came across stab binding, I remember wondering about its construction. It mocked me like some impossible riddle—a mysterious puzzle yearning for discernment. I think the enigma stemmed from its overt simplicity: intersecting, though not interwoven, perpendicular threads. The binding appeared fixed and reliable only after satisfying my need to pluck and poke at the filaments.

Text 13 Feb Get Your Hands On Some Paper

I still dork out over ordering a new paper sample. Since the screen cannot yet convey the quality, color, and texture of a particular variety of paper, requesting swatches has become indispensable. For me, it’s a necessary vice; a mild addiction, even. Nothing compares to having my imagination eclipsed by reality. Even if, on rare occasions, flawed wares dash my hopes.