Colors: , ,

Storyboard Wedding Why It Works Wednesday

In honor of our nation’s big day tomorrow, I am going a bit Patriotic with this week’s Why It Works Wednesday tackling a lovely wedding invitation suite {a first for WIWW!} from Pink Piggy Design.  I came across this gorgeous suite thanks to a feature from Oh So Beautiful Paper, who were feeling a bit patriotic themselves!  Teaming up with Utah based photographer, Kate Osborne, the team created a petite styled shoot around paper goods including some really cute food decor items that pay proper homage to old glory!  To view the full shoot, Click Here.

There are some really wonderful touches that come together to make this invitation suite as perfect as it can be: Color, Pattern, & Font Type,  are the main elements that really make this American inspired beauty sing!

Red White Blue Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper Pink Piggy Design Kate Osborne Photography 1 Red White Blue Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper Pink Piggy Design Kate Osborne Photography 4

Color: As I have said before and I will certainly say again, you can’t escape color!  Color is likely your number one reason that something will succeed or fail right out of the gate.  Tonality & hue selection is preciously why this red white & blue wedding invitation suite is so easy on the eyes.  All so often we associate anything patriotic with the intense primary color forms of red & blue.  The beauty to this suite is that while these very clearly posses an American feel color combo, the actual colors themselves are well more sophisticated & I dare say mature.  The red is the closest to its primary form, but believe me when I tell you its not.  The red is certainly a shade {primary red mixed with black} and as such is giving off a very refined quality.  This red seems like it has been around the block, seen some things, and as such, has a bit of that old Americana feel to it.  A real historic red quality if you will.  While the red is indeed lovely, it is really the blue that drives the suite.  A deep dark midnight navy takes over for standard primary blue, really upping the level of sophistication.  Whether or not it is indeed navy inspired, there is a certain regal quality that one does associate with the Navy, and that regal feel comes out in spades with this suite.  The moral of the story is if you  are fancying to work with this type of strongly associated color palette, really work the tonal range & shades of red & blue.  The combo will be there no doubt, simply select hues within them that are unique, thoughtful & sophisticated and you will be well on your way to a gorgeous palette that doesn’t scream ‘My county tis of thee’ but nods in its direction.

Red White Blue Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper Pink Piggy Design Kate Osborne Photography 2*Photographs by Kate Osborne Photography  

Pattern: A quick and easy way to ‘fool’ the eye into feeling something is less like a screaming eagle is to work with patterns.  Now you might be thinking to yourself, well thats interesting, as our American flag is one giant pattern, but the truth is, when we see Patriotic flair, the flag is just one among many of the things that we see.  The suite plays proper homage to old glory with thin red & white stripes, used in juuuuust the right amount, which is key.  The stripes are nothing more then a florish if you will, a finishing element to give some pop & movement.  The spareness to which the stripes are used are their weapon, making them extremely cool & fun.  You’ll note that 2 other elements equally play on the red & white stripes in the pale red bakers twine {also a mega old American item used naturally by its namesake bakers once upon a different lifetime} wrapping the whole suite, as well as the thin red border of the sticker on the main envelope as well as the invite itself.  Just that simple red border ties together the whole, directly linking to its stripe florish counterpart.

Another really important component to the pattern puzzle is the text layout/text block.  A text block, in its simplest form, is a grouping of text, in this case it is a grouping of three unique fonts styles crafted together to create a block like shape, a text block in its most literal form.  Font selection, as well as font size, plays a key role in the overall design aesthetic of this invite. I’ll get into the font choices in just a moment,  but I note the font block, as in its selection of differing font stylings & sizes, a pattern is created visually.  The text block reads very much like a vintage newspaper, penny mag, even poster that one might come across in the wild west.  Editors used font type & size as a way to call attention to specific details {not much unlike designers these days} thus crafting an interesting pattern of text for the reader.  Talk about super Americana!

Red White Blue Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper Pink Piggy Design Kate Osborne Photography 5 Red White Blue Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper Pink Piggy Design Kate Osborne Photography 3

Font: Font selection is the last key to our patriotic suite and its a biggie! There are three distinct font choices hard at work in the invitation.  Starting from the top down, we begin with a beautiful script font that most certainly hearkens back to the writing of old {seventeenth and eighteenth century}, with its grand florishes and cursive stylings.  Script font type is formal & sophisticated and when used in just the right places {literally as well as the words that it is carrying} and as well as in just the right amount, it can be utterly powerful!  Next is the use of a very modern albeit thick, type face.  The choice of a more modern font type to deliver the heavy lifting of the message serves to keep us grounded in the now.  The font, even though modern, is certainly a typeface with a vintage nod, which allows it to so seamlessly tie in to its surroundings.  When curating a group of fonts, a lot of thought needs to go into how well they compliment one another and come together as a set, I dare say its paramount!  Lastly is the billboard like wild west font type of the couple’s  name which most certainly echoes that of the posters of old.  The font, by design, has a 3D effect, leaping the couple’s  name off the page to the receiver.  There is certainly no question who these invites are for and along with their gorgeous red corner florishes, beautifully reminiscent of old.

The suite as a whole is a beautiful package, with each element wonderfully sliding into the next.  From the choice of envelope to twine, even the simple sticker which dresses the package as a whole, each item is carefully designed to not only compliment the next but stir up some of that old patriotic feel.  I dont know about you, but I love the choice of a darker red & deeper blue.  I personally find the color combo more easily accepted by myself simply because of the color choices alone.  The suite as a whole is wonderfully sophisticated & beautifully looking back to the past.  What are some of your favorite elements about this suite?  Are you a fan of the color choices like I am?!  Be sure to send in  your design breakdown images, I’d love to get into what wonderful elements make them work!

Storyboard Wedding Post Signature