Issue 5: Inner Child
On getting back to basics, coloring outside the lines, and never taking ourselves too seriously.
🧸 Explain it like I’m 5
Design is a delicate balance between clarity and cleverness. Good design sends an instantly obvious message—nobody is going to work to understand us if we don’t make ourselves clear. But we also need to respect our audience. We never want to condescend or over-explain, and the most effective communication methods — like “show don’t tell” — require a fundamental base of trust.
Because my youngest sister was born when I was 13, I’m lucky enough to remember so much great children’s content. The best of that content communicated with young minds on a level they were ready for but respected them enough not to talk down or shy away from important topics. Raffi assumed that we could learn how to care for our neighbors and the Earth. Sesame Street showed us we could get through tough times together. Jellycat knew nobody was too young (or too old) to appreciate a plushie bok choy.
No matter our audience’s age, our goal should always be to meet people where they are, make our most important messages clear and engaging, and give them more to find if/when they’re ready. That’s why this week, we’re learning from the wonderful, colorful world of children’s content. Join me as we get inspired by candy and baguette gnomes, learn how to play with color, and sing a song together.
✨ Moodboard of the week
The Inner Child moodboard is whimsical, silly, bold, colorful, and engaging to viewers of all ages. It reminds us to find joy in every day and, above all, to never take ourselves too seriously.
🔍 Question of the week
“What’s the best way to make a colour palette cohesive?”
My answer to this question may get me in some trouble, and I’m more than comfortable with that (maybe even a little excited). There are many systems people use to create cohesion. Many of these are based on theories about what kinds of colors look good together—colors from opposite sides of the color wheel (complementary), colors from three equidistant parts of the spectrum (triad), different varieties of the same hue (monochrome), colors near each other on the spectrum (analogous), and more. Using math or tools like Adobe Color, we can generate palettes based on these theories and adjust them as needed for our aesthetic sensibilities.
As an example, take a look at these four palettes generated around the same central shade of lavender:
These systems are often positioned as the “correct” way to balance color, and while few people would say you have to take exactly what you’re given, they’re often positioned as an objective truth we ignore at our own peril.
I think that’s some BS.
The palettes above are all cohesive, to be sure, but they’re so boring. They don’t tell a story, they don’t look great, and they won’t necessarily work for anyone’s practical needs. These theories may be helpful in safeguarding against bad color palettes, but they’re unlikely to yield anything inspiring.
The truth is, there’s always going to be some measure of discretion and personal taste in crafting a color palette—particularly if you want something ownable and unique. However, there are a few guidelines that can help make a color palette click:
Choose with purpose
Colors that are too close together look muddy and confusing, so all hues should be visually distinct. While generally, it’s nice to distribute colors across the spectrum, monochrome or analogous color schemes can still be great as long as each color has a clear and distinct role.
Make it pop
Each color should not only serve its own role but also help the other colors shine. Complementary and triad colors can be a helpful starting point for this, but there are many ways to achieve this through contrasts in hue, brightness, and saturation—or even by simply adding a fun wildcard color with no clear precedent.
Add support
While this is not strictly necessary, sometimes central colors are well supported by having a friend nearby—that is to say, a shade or two from a similar part of the color spectrum. While contrast is generally a higher priority, this can create a nice cohesive look when you have extra colors to play with.
Turn the light on/off
This one is actually non-negotiable. For both accessibility and attractiveness reasons, you want a distribution of light colors, dark colors, and mid-tones. This makes the color scheme usable (for example, you need distinct options for text and background colors to create legible text) and also makes it look much more cohesive and exciting.
Use your judgment
This is the hardest one! No matter how many rules and guidelines you follow, you need to let your eyes tell you if the color scheme clicks or not. If rules and guidelines fail you, you may need to guess and check. After 15 years in this industry, sometimes the right answers still surprise me, and you’d be shocked at how often I find the shade that brings a color palette home through trial and error.
The color palette below represents one of an infinite number of ways to implement these guidelines. Keeping the same lavender as the central color, the purple is balanced by a deep teal and bolstered by a similarly cool aqua. An off-white adds a neutral contrast to the other colors, while a complimentary neon yellow (to be used sparingly) makes a statement, brings the other hues together, and helps everything pop. The colors are distributed across hue, saturation, and brightness, allowing for both contrast and cohesion in how they are used.
Submit your burning design questions by sending me a message below. Questions can relate to design itself, entrepreneurship, workflow, or anything you think I may be able to answer. There are no limits.
🎧 Soundtrack of the week
This week’s themed playlist is inspired by the songs that raised me, songs that bring out my silly side, and songs that remind me who I want to be when I grow up. Click to listen or check out the playlist on Spotify!
✏️ My favorite things
I’ve long appreciated Sesame Street (and the Jim Hensonverse at large) for successfully appealing to adults and kids in equal measure. Like many iconic characters including The Pigeon, the Teletubbies, and newcomers like The Tiny Chef, our favorite Muppets have navigated the complex world of social media beautifully, sharing life lessons for all with their signature humor and sweetness.
But the German counterpart, Sesamstraße, is playing its own game. Unsurprisingly, for a nation whose most iconic children’s show is a chronically depressed loaf of bread, Sesamstraße seems to focus on the most unhinged moments in Sesame Street history to everyone’s great benefit, and I can always depend on them to improve my day. Here are some feed highlights:
All images from @sesamstrasse on Instagram. I highly recommend giving them a follow at your earliest convenience.
🌱 Touching Grass
📖 What I’m reading: After reading and loving Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson last month, I picked up The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England at RJ Julia, my favorite local bookstore, over the weekend and postponed all my intended reads to dive in immediately. No regrets.
🧀 What I’m eating: Kraft Mac & Cheese (don’t tell my mom). Sriracha makes it grownup food and I won’t hear otherwise.
📺 What I’m watching: If you’re not watching The Pigeon Explains on YouTube (or following the Mo Willems Workshop) on Instagram, then you need to fix your life and choices.
🎧 What I’m listening to: The audiobook version of Isabel Allende’s The House of Spirits made it off my Libby queue over the weekend. It’s 19 hours long and there’s a waitlist, so hopefully it’s as gripping as I’ve heard!
🦞 Where I’ve been: I spent Sunday and Monday in Portland, Maine eating lobster and ice cream, and hiding from responsibility. I hope you did your equivalent!