Contrast

Eggwave - by Werteloberfell for Neff

The Eggwave, designed by German design group Werteloberfell for refrigerator manufacture Neff, is an elegant take on the traditional egg carton. The tray's form flows with a series of peaks and valleys that mimic the shape of an egg. The undulating plastic structure of the carton is an effective use of contrast for two reasons. First, each positive and corresponding negative spaces provide both a cradle for one egg and a cap for another. The symmetrically contrasting form of the carton unit allows for an almost infinite expansion of egg containment in two dimensions. Eggwaves can be stacked both vertically and horizontally, while maintaining a modular and rigid structure. Additionally, the elegant contrasting sine waves of the Eggwave combine to create a sculptural element for your fridge. This makes consumers less likely to simply dispose of the Eggwave, but rather cherish it for its sculptural value. For its functional and sculptural qualities Eggwaves use of contrast makes it successful as a design.

Sky UI

The user interface for Sky, a web app, is designed with a sexy clean aesthetic that looks in par with our modern design sensibility. However, the design ultimately fails because the interface and buttons lack proper contrast, both from themselves and the rest of the apps content. The app's background is a cool grey-blue gradient to white. This is usually a calm and approachable style for a web app, but there is no contrast between it and the "buttons," they are also blue and (slightly less) cool blue. Additionally, there is no contrast between the Interface "buttons" themselves. Each "button" has the same blue with light sheen surface and a white symbol – at a quick glance they are impossible to differentiate. For these two reasons Sky's UI's lack of contrast makes it fail as a design.