Color Theory and Gestalt Principles

For my design I chose first to us a complementary color scheme because I knew I wanted to have a neutral logo with an accent. I first chose a rather neutral light brown hue and using kuler then found it's complement, a light blue color that really stands out while also giving off a calm and reassuring tone. Next, I focused on gestalt principles. I first and foremost used closure in this design by eliminating parts of the letters S, F, and E, but leaving still enough for the brain to mentally complete the letters. The lock itself is also not connected at the top, but again the brain is still able to piece the two separate parts as one whole "lock" in this case. I did this design because I wanted to give off the subtle idea of things being unsafe by being left open or slightly incomplete like the letters are. The other principle I used was continuity and similarity. Even thought the lock is suddenly a large, initially different looking shape among the word, I added continuity by adding the bar at the the top to help lead the eye gradually from the S to the F and by adding a softer "a." Also, because there is a letter clearly in blue box, this gives the shape similarity to the other letters and thus, the brain still sees the image as one part of the word. These principles were chosen as a way to add interest and an image within the image, without disrupting the flow of the logo or creating confusion.