Using Themes With Designs In Photoshop

  Categorized under: Photoshop

Flipping kung-fu man, that’s the theme. Customer says to me, “It has to be cute and pink yet strong and forward.” Hello? Then I asked kind of perplexed, “What do you have in mind?” They say something to the extent of, “Hello Kitty fighting Bruce Lee.” Hellooo? Ok, that’s an extreme case of finding a theme. No it’s not. You’ll often hear weird requests. So when you hear, pink, think fun. When you hear Bruce Lee, think who is this weirdo and what would Bruce Lee be doing fighting Hello Kitty? How would Bruce win? Then think strong. Apparently this client thinks they’re cute as a button and yet strong. This persons wants a strong pink theme.

Usually I throw out keywords I translate back to myself such as:

Mercedes = black and elegant
Sleek = silvery gradients, hints of shine, possibly some blue
Fire = bold red, offset by yellows and whites
Water = round, blue, sparkles
Rock = solid, earth tones

Usually a company or client can identify with these terms instead of your asking them, “What type of product do you want.” Otherwise why would they have hired you? They expect you to come up with these answers. You just need to phrase the sentence more creatively. When I approach clientele, I normally know what they are selling or during the conversation I get hints to what they want. I pay attention to keywords they say such as retail (white), technology, (some blue) then I’ll throw in opposite colors for attention like orange and black.

So how do you make a theme happen if a client has no idea what they want? Currently the online market for the big companies are using a lot of white, rarely black. Do you want to follow their lead or would you like to be at the forefront instead? If everything is white instead go blood red, think James Bond with big bold fonts instead of itty bitty ones.

There’s a theme everywhere, sometimes they are hard to identify. I notice plenty of websites that don’t have one yet plenty of print material that does. If you have a hard time, start small. Come up with a slogan to identify the company and build around that. If the company is Bootoo Bandan Pads and they sell women’s feminine products maybe come up with a catch phrase like, “Feel bootoo-ful everyday.” Match that theme and use pleasant colors to compliment it. Translated to “Feel beautiful everyday.” in case you missed it.

Learn to listen to what the clients are telling you and turn it into a visual product that’s easy enough for anyone to understand. It takes time and a lot of patience but in the end, the product is all that matters. By creating a theme you’ll appreciate the experience and make it easier on yourself.

— Zeus ::)
May 24, 2007