I went to the Royal Ascot horse race on Saturday. I was wondering if this would be of any interest to anyone but then I saw that Ben Terrett had done a post on F1 so I figured that I'd pitch in some more sporting observations.
With one eye on the racing, I had one to spare to cast over the delightful design of the programme.
I wouldn't have thought an establishment event would have good design - apart from the knapkin rings maybe - but I think it is because of the huge amount of information in horse racing. I think that after a few wines, an expert or beginner needs to have an idea about who to bet on in a hurry - and the clear layout, colour-jersey sign-posting/ access points and hierarchies of form information are pretty useful.
I personally wouldn't have that red block of info-blurb next to each rider - the red is too dominating - a different colour to denote it's prose-manner maybe - but no need for the red. Red is the last resort. Red is the cherry on top of the rest of the visual cake you have made - it shows you where to cut first.
Spielberg referenced 'Don't Look Now in the use of this Girl in the red dress - she is visible because of the economy of the rest of the scene
It is the You Are Here spot, used when the start point of a design isn't shown (maybe for good reason) by the composition and other more subtle means. Don't paint with Red, don't sprinkle it - you should have a very fine brush that applies a small amount of red as a finishing touch or a last resort.
Many sports are under pressure to open up their arcane rules and traditions to newcomers and I thought this guide was very accessible - and visually elegant. I liked their how-to-guide.
(My only win of the day came not for that though but on the advice of my sister - she reckons that black and yellow vests win more. This advice was followed in the first race (apart from the yellow) and Big Audio came in at 22/1!)
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