Chuck wrote:
> > Yellow buttons would have been a much better idea on that AIR 2 of mine.
>
> Yes it would but it would have been much less visually attractive on the
> store shelf. Money talks bullshit and safety walks.
Whilst I do agree, that's an interesting observation from a graphical
point of view.
Red on black as a combination (or vice versa) are easily the most
aggressive colours for the eye (note that I did not, as I usually
would if necessary, qualify that statement). The Web, certainly in its
infancy, had quite a lot of this because it was created by people that
knew how to create a web page *technically* but who had little to no
idea of what works that pleases the eye. These web page creators
usually, I'm being generous here, had precious little graphic training.
As an observation, the same applied when desktop publishing came
about. The people who first adopted it thought they were the "ant's
pants" yet they had no training in what people really wanted to read.
They quickly got disabused. Today, people with a 'puter and some
quirky programme like Micro$haft W**d seem to think that they can do
the same thing. Not so.
Micro$shaft W**d (and its ilk) might instil in some the idea that they
*can* create a readable document pleasing to the eye because they
might perceive that the technology to do so is there, but it is not:
a) the "creator" has not received the training
b) more importantly, the programme itself is seriously lacking
c) the people using these types of programmes do not understand this
In the days before colour photocopying people used to print
confidential documentation in black onto dark red stock (paper)
because if you tried to photocopy it, it all turned out black. Ergo,
black and red are closely akin.
There is a website at the moment that I consider particularly shocking
in this regard, frankly I find it difficult to go there. I'm not
saying that it is exactly *red* on black but it *is* close to that.
Very generally: if someone is asked to read something, then the act of
reading should be facilitated to the utmost and this is especially
true of the web where you are asked to read on a monitor with all the
pixellation (no good thing) that that entails. There's a *very* good
reason why books, throughout the centuries, have always been printed
black on white and, yes, it has EVERYTHING to do with the simplicity
of that, the *ease of reading* of it.
You say: what about magazines where you see lots of what is called
"reverse block" (colour on colour)? The answer is that is that it is a
short read, a by-product, an emphasis to, the main page. Page after
page of reverse block text simply will not be read.
Trust me, I'm a grafix profersional. :7
Then again, black on red on an object, rather than something that has
to be read, is not *that* difficult. Nevertheless, you won't find much
of that colour combination in nature, with good reason although,
often, that colour combination serves as a warning in the natural
world. Again, with good reason.
I've been informed since my first post that the Air2 is now:
> yellow all over except for the buttons
> which are white and the purge button which is black!
The website shows it as being black in body, white buttons (the fact
that it's mirror image would probably only be relevant to a pedant,
aka graphics person like myself). My respondent's description,
however, of yellow and white are, equally, a bad mix underwater and if
there is that colour combination available they still haven't learned.
Rant, rant, rant, I'm outta here.
Cheers,
Christian
PS Since I've critised others, although not named, I suppose I'd
better point out that these are *my* views only. Pun intended.
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