The key to Brockmann's designs is simplicity. He generally used only one or two colors in his designs, and placed them in places where he wanted emphasis. When color was used, the saturation of the color tended towards the darker end of the color spectrum (basically by adding various amounts of black to the colors used). This makes his color scheme feel warm and give a sophistication to the design. Color use was almost always in the solid form, and rarely used wild colors, neon, or anything with a cold or icy feel to it. Primary colors were the most common. Deep reds combined with black and white were one of his most frequently used color schemes. Brockmann often used gradients in his backgrounds, which were often done in shades of grey or blue-grey. This was most likely done to provide a neutral backdrop where his foreground objects would stand out more. One other thing I noticed about Brockmann's gradients is that they often get lighter towards the focal point of the design. In works that included typography (which accounts for most of his designs), the movement of dark to light would draw the viewer towards the most important words.

Because Brockmann used so much black in his design, I chose to keep all of the black areas from the original design. I also did this so that the grid design would not be lost. I kept to a color scheme of primary colors, the red and yellow being the most dominant, but even the neutral background is in a blueish grey. In applying the yellow, I applied it in a vertical strip that keeps the proportions of the grid intact. I chose a yellow that was slightly darker than primary, keeping to his tradition of strong, dark colors. The most dominant color, red, is applied in a space that also keeps to the grid design. Three of the four outermost points of the red define points on the grid that are .618 from an outer vertical or horizontal edge. The red is also a darker than primary red. The gradient used for the background gets lighter towards the center of the composition to focus attention there.

This design was created by scanning in my original paper/pen drawing, and then editing it using Adobe Photoshop.

View original black and white design here.