GoMedia started up in early 2003 by William Beachy and was joined by Jeff Finley in 2005. With clients ranging from Pepsi to Thrustkill records, the respected Arsenal vector packs and a massively popular online magazine GoMedia is doing everything right. Add to that the fact that GoMedia has a reputation for churning out excellent black-and-white designs/illustrations and their presence in “the lose the color!” series is more that justified.

On to the questions then, as always the comments are at your disposal to discuss the topic and let me know how you feel. Enjoy!

1. What are the benefits of choosing black-and-white compared to going color?
Sometimes, Black and White images leave the viewer with a sense of anticipation. It might not appear finished, so they can imagine what a finished piece would look like. Often times coloring your black and white drawing can ruin it. It’s a fine line. Almost always a black and white drawing, if done well, is going to impress. Whereas color can make or break your art. I know a lot of designers struggle when it comes time to color their line art.

Top: Take note of the excellent line work and use of contrast. Image by respected Go Media designer Chris Comella.

2. Does going black-and-white make things easier or more challenging from a design standpoint?
It depends, it can make it easier because it’s one less thing to worry about. But it makes it harder because you don’t have values of color to help distinguish different forms. You lose the ability to separate objects by color. It’s all done with contrast, line weight, etc. It’s a hard skill to master.

3. Is there a particular type of client that has a habit of asking for black-and-white or near monochrome work?
I haven’t found one personally. What I did find out is that when a client wants you to do design for posters that will be photocopied and distributed around town, solid black-and-white is the way to go.

4. Is there any time when you’d advise not to go with black-and-white?
This is a case by case basis. There aren’t really any rules that say don’t use black and white unless of course the medium doesn’t allow for it. I think the client and the medium are the most important factors when decided whether to stick with black-and-white or go with color. What is the budget? What does the client expect? What is the final product going to look like? However, if the choice between black and white or color is purely a creative decision, then it’s up to you. Grayscale photography has a classical feel to it, it tends to be more “artsy” so to speak. It helps create a mood.

“For the Bridge and Tunnel shirt black and white was a conscious decision, mostly to save on printing costs. It’s a lot cheaper to print one color shirts, especially on white. The look I was going for was a handmade line art collage printed very big on the shirt, so it worked out well.” - Jeff Finley

5. What’s the general reaction you get from clients when you suggest
black-and-white? Is it hard to bend the opinion of a client who’s bent on full-color to going with black-and-white if it suits the project/medium better?
The client who is dead-set on color, will usually feel black and white is “boring”
and they somehow feel they’re not getting enough bang for their buck. Sometimes
black and white art looks unfinished. If it’s a logo, a client might not be able to
visualize all the various uses their logo if they first see it in black and white
only. If you insist on the project being black and white only, just describe how it
suits the project better. It can save them on printing costs too.

6. Can you give 3 tips for someone who want’s to start doing more black-and-white work?

1. Improve the quality of your lines. Using a single color to describe form and
space is a tough skill to master.

2. Try using halftones to simulate gradients.

3. Sometimes you’ll need to do color versions to “sell” your black and white concept to a client.

“I had plans to color the Paint the Stars tee but I couldn’t come up with anything I liked. In the end I left it black-and-white. I think it’s better for it. And can be more efficient when printing it huge on a t-shirt.” - Jeff Finley

Thanks for your time Jeff. Best of luck to both you and GoMedia! Below are a bunch of links that lead to more Go Media goodness!

Go Media portfolio
GoMediazine
Arsenal vector packs
Go Media Twitter

Most of the pieces are not pure black-and-white, a lot of them have a splash a tiny bit of color. While they feature some color they’re still perfect for the purpose of our study though and I’m sure they’ll get you’re creative juices flowing whether you’re a hardcore black-and-white buff, color lover or somewhere in between. Enjoy and be inspired!

I love coming across illustrators that blow me away at first contact. Joao Oliveira definitely falls into that category, I had never seen his work but the class and style of his pieces is very impressive.

Joao’s work is both classic yet modern at the same time. In the first two pieces Joao uses the extreme contrasts black-and-white allows combined with digital effects to attain a classic sci-fi look. The third and fourth illustrations look much more classical but still have digital elements that makes them very intriguing.

Multi-faceted designer and illustrator Pete Harrison loves to combine a black-and-white base image with colorful lighting effects. By using well placed lighting effects and strong contrast his pieces nearly pop off the screen.

Italy based Alberto Seveso needs no introduction in the illustration scene. Dark backgrounds with hues of gray and some color splashed in give Alberto’s work a modern look with a classic undertone.

Mike Harrison’s non-digital look immediately sets him apart from the general field. In the pieces below Mike uses deep dark backgrounds, black-and-white models and a soft splash of color to set the mood.

Alessandro Pautasso combines classic black-and-white photography with vector splashes, swirls and patterns to create a sexy marriage of extremes (classic looking photography with very digital looking elements).

In the pieces below Alessandro uses a gray on gray base to create low contrast between the background and the models. This makes the bright colors in his work really stand out.

Christopher Haines, located in Australia, has a very broad style to his illustration. In the Electro set below Christopher uses monochrome color bases that he then brings to life with “designery” purple.

Belgian illustrator Bram Verhaeren has a lighthearted open feel to his work. The pieces below have a soft look to them due to the fact that Bram uses little black and instead goes with subtle hues of gray.

I also feel that Flash’s good name has been spoiled mostly by designers who love making pretty sites but know or care nothing about usable, user centered web design.

See more of the awesome submissions to the Noir chapter on Depthcore.

So why black-and-white as the subject for a series of posts? It’s because black-and-white is an intriguing limitation and blessing at the same time. If black-and-white is used for a suitable project it puts you into a challenging but beneficial situation. Working in black-and-white is essentially a limitation, you have one less tool at your disposal after all. You’ll have to get by without using color to set the mood or focal point. Once you get the hang of working without color though you’ll start to see that the limitation you imposed on yourself actually has some very strong benefits.

There are many good reasons to choose black-and-white over color. Time, money, mood, target audience and the media you’re working for are all factors. To help you choose whether black-and-white is the way to go for your next job I’ve outlined nine strong points of losing the color. Enjoy and be sure to add your own thoughts to the comments so we can get a discussion going.

1. Maximum contrast
This is the most obvious use of black-and-white. By working with high contrast and no colors you eliminate a lot of factors that could have distracted your visitor. The viewer will instantly be able to see what the main focus of the piece is without having to give it any thought.

If you use a dark background with light design elements for example, it suddenly becomes very easy to make a focused composition that guides the eye and attention of the viewer however you like.

By losing the color and you can easily reach a powerful and striking
contrast. Illustration by Maxim Zestkov.

2. Ability to break the mold
The design and illustration field is filled to the brim with bright full-colored work and trust me this trend isn’t going anywhere for the time being. That however doesn’t mean that there isn’t any room for work that flows in another direction.

If you create a portfolio with some outstanding black-and-white pieces in it you’ll instantly stand out from the crowd. I’m not saying you should forsake color for the rest of your career, that would be silly and unpractical, but some strong black-and-white work in prominent places of your portfolio will show you in an entirely different light.

3. A faster workflow
Just like every new thing you try your hand at going black-and-white can be challenging at first if you’re used to working in full-color. Once you start to get a feel for the limitations and learn to work with them though you’ll find that you’ll be able to get good results at a faster pace. This is because you’re spending less time fretting over color intensity and combinations.

Niklas Lundberg created this dramatic and memorable piece for the
latest Depthcore chapter.

4. Set a dark mood
Black-and-white can look very harsh and dark if you work with high contrast and fitting imagery. If you go with a lot of contrast between your black and whites it’s very easy to set a dark, depressing, grim or frightening mood. Metal and rock bands are a good example of this and have been using black-and-white for ages to create stunning and dark covers.

The Touch or Suffer logo by GoMedia is a prime example of choosing black-and-white to set a dark and foreboding mood.

5. Combine white and grey for a gentle look
As harsh as black-and-white can be if you amp the contrast, it’s actually deceptively simple to create a really soft and gentle mood with it. If you simply skip black entirely and combine white with hues of gray that don’t differentiate too much from each other you’ll end up with a very gentle and inviting mood. The less contrast you use the softer the piece becomes.

6. Black and white is timeless
Black and white has a timeless and classy atmosphere and sometimes even feels nostalgic. The classic nature of the typical black-and-white look is perfect for clients and brands that want to look exquisite and classy without being too flashy. It’s also worth noting that designs and illustrations that have that classic black-and-white look generally stand the test of time very well.

7. Unifies elements
If you mix a lot of different media in your work going black-and-white instead of color has the benefit of making these elements blend together better. This means you’ll make work that looks more cohesive with less effort. No need to adjust the colors and their intensity, just desaturate and be done with it. You’ll get good result with less effort.

8. Can make color pop
If you use a black-and-white as a basis and add a hint of color over that you’ll end up with some interesting and eye-catching results. If you want to make colors “pop” combining really bright colors with black-and-white is a sure way to achieve this.

Yes yes I know it’s Paris Hilton but it’s also a great example by Pete Harrison on how subtle color can bring magic to a monochrome piece.

9. It’s budget friendly design
Less color means cheaper production. If your client is on a low budget and you’re working for print he’ll be grateful for your decision to go with black-and-white. This saves on printing costs which can really mean a lot to a client if money is an issue.

So enjoy, be inspired and be sure to check out the source sites listed at the bottom of the post. While you do that I’ll decide if I should do a showcase on Vodka bottles - some are just so brilliantly creative. I would love your opinion on that by the way!

Source: These images came from the following sources - Packaging World, the Dieline and the Spoon Sisters.

Success in the design industry relies on many different factors. There’s much more to it than just being able to make a pretty visual. Communication, self-promotion, technique and execution of the actual creative process are just a few of the many factors that come into play.

With success depending on so many elements it’s easy to lose track of the big picture. To keep you on top of your game we asked four established designers and illustrators to share their most valuable advice.

Angel D’Amico is a Chicago based Freelance Illustrator and Designer who’s loving life and living her dream. She Combines her fine art skills with her digital artwork, to create beautiful, unique, and exotic environments of work.

1. Start making work for yourself.
When i got out of college I realized that all my creative work was done mostly for my classes and clients. I thought to myself “If i had the chance what would I create for myself?�. I combined my best aspects of my art and design and came up with my own style.

2. Make a website!
Don’t just talk about it for years, DO it. Make it simple and clean. These days to be competitive you need a website. Clients don’t want to have to download your portfolio in pdf format or view images in emails. They want instant access.
I myself took a web class for a half of semester in college to learn the basics. If I can do it so can you.

3. When you make that site, make sure it loads fast.
I’m the owner of Carpal tunnel Magazine, an online webzine where I interview artists. When I get send a link to check out and it’s a flash site that takes too long to load I usually don’t wait(there are exceptions). Simple sites are very effective.

4. Sign up for all the free listing and posting places you can.
Research and find art and design sites that let you post for free. Get your name out there, meet and chat with people. It’s great to have support and to give some in return.

5. Do your research.
I research new and old artists, designers, sites, magazines, books etc.
Keep up with design, learn the history, it will give you greater visual knowledge and more ideas.

6. Stay open minded.
Be unique, and open to new ideas. Don’t get stuck in your habits and comfort zone.

7. Be confident, humble, and respectful
Not only to clients but also to fellow artists, people asking for advice and everyone else in general :)

Radim Malinic prides himself on his artistic sensibility, passion for details, innovative resutls, pushing the boundaries. His work has been described as imaginative, sophisticated, sensual and sexy.

1. Know what you want to do.
Decide where to start. Do you want to do Illustration, graphic design, motion, web design or be the kettle operator?

2. Know the basics.
You just got out of the university and want to work for the big agencies, doing Nike and Coca Cola tomorrow. Well, it might not just happen yet. Agency working environment is probably only three words written down for you. Get any design job you can. Get some experience. have a look around and then make up your mind about where to go next.

3. Know your software.
You might know a shortcut or two, time to take it a bit further. Knowing your software inside out will save you a lot of time. Don’t waste time learning any software that’s not relevant to your craft though.

4. Know your audience.
If you illustrate tanks and cranes, the idea of doing editorial illustrations for Fashion magazines isn’t the best. Spend as much time as needed resourcing on the net.

5. Know your style.
Some people like to create a different style all the time, some like to stick with the tried and tested. A signature style helps a lot in attracting new clientele. Make sure you know your ground and evolve from there.

6. Know your enemy and make friends.
Keep an eye on the current design scene. Shutting yourself off too much could leave you miles behind. Do not borrow from anyone’s style but make sure your work looks always fresh.

7. Know your price.
Make sure you know your price. You can be greatest of the great and work around the clock, it does very little good if you’re still penniless at the end of it. No one will tell you how much they charge, but it isn’t rocket science to figure out the financial value of your work.

Netherlands based Paco Raphael works as freelancer for several agencies and companies. Before that he worked as senior graphic, interactive and webdesigner for MTV and RedUrban interactive advertising agency.

1. Constantly watch.
For upcoming artist is it important that they obtain their skills by constantly looking forward. Look at other designers, read art-books, check out architecture and watch movies.

2. Tutorials & techniques.
It is important to do a lot of tutorials, make different things and see different styles. This helps you find and maintain your skills and techniques.

3. Read books.
Buy books! I have books about design from the early twenties up till now, from Baroque, Retro and Pop art. This will give you a good view of the strengths and weaknesses in design and art of certain years. Books like this will also inspire you to view design in a different way and perhaps some elements from the past might find their way into your designs.

4. Show yourself!
Make yourself known in the industry by discussing in forums, having your own website and by sending artwork to agencies. You’ll see that you get a lot of feedback which will be helpfull.

5. Keep your own style.
In my opinion I think every designer must have his own unique style. I see a lot of wannabe designers, copying the works of others. Don’t copy, try to keep and refresh your own style!

6. Ask for critique
Ask opinions and critique from other designers. You can learn a lot from the opinions of your fellow designers and it often leads to good analysis of your work.

7. Draw!
I keep myself fresh by doing a lot of hand-drawing. A lot of good illustrations and logo designs start on paper. After you find the perfect composition and concept you can easily import this in programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop to finalize the piece.

Scott Pollard is a multi-talented designer and illustrator that has recently put a halt to his freelancing career to join Oneighty creative in their mission to conquer the United kingdom.

1. Don’t over depend on tutorials.
Do tutorials to stay on top of your game and learn new techniques but don’t rely solely on them. Doing so will make it hard for you define your style.

2. Stay fresh - literally!
Life as a designer doesn’t mean you can sacrifice hygiene. So before sit down and boot your computer up get a shower and put on some clean clothes.

3. Use save as instead of save.
When working in Photoshop use save as more than save because once a file is closed it’s history is gone.

4. Be wary of filters.
If you going to use the filters menu make sure you make a dam good job to disguise it because everyone (and I’m not just talking designers) has seen and played with these effects before.

5. Simple concepts are often best.
Don’t over think an idea to the point it becomes confusing even to yourself. Simple is often best.

6. Social networking sites.
Social networking sites are great, but can also steal a lot of your time away. Network on the best sites only. Don’t spread yourself across them all. You won’t be able to keep contacts.

7. Laptop or desktop?
A laptop is ok to transfer your portfolio from a to b but unless you have a super expensive piece of technology, Photoshop and other memory intensive programs will just not run efficiently. If you only have the cash to buy one go for the desktop.