“Life looks a little different when you put it under a microscope.”
It’s a metaphorical aphorism based on our brain’s interpretation of what the eye processes, meaning there’s a world of difference out there when we take a second to understand what we see.
But I never really understood it as well as I do now until AMA’s Shad Harden handed me a magnifying glass and told me to look at a picture of a kid playing in a magazine.
“There’s only four colors there,” Harden told me as I sat glaring at the photo. “Those colors make up everything we make, you just have to know how to do it.”
It’s a process called halftoning, and it’s the art of taking only four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and “key”, or black). Each of these dots of colors are arranged next to each other in such a way that our eyes perceive them as a certain color when we look at it from the far-away naked eye.
It’s like Impressionism painting, where each dot from an artist’s brush alone is nothing, but if arranged carefully by the painter, can turn those dots into something beautiful.
“It is a challenge to create something with just these colors,” Harden added. “But in the end that’s what make this fun.”
So next time you take a look at an AMA printed page, take a closer look. Take the time to see the world through a microscope and appreciate the craftmanship put into each of their printed pieces.
