Design Horrors: The Star-burst

Okay, I think we can all agree that the star-burst is one of those awesomely bad design elements that like to frequent those cheesy catalogs with the words “Buy now!” “Sale!” or “Free!” Plus to make matters worse this poor design element is made with blinding primary yellow and red colors to grab the attention of the unsuspecting victim- I mean… customer.

However bad it is, I would like to take a stand for the misguided and abused star-burst. I think that this design element can be resurrected in a blaze of glory, just as long as it is used correctly. Recently I have been seeing some beautiful designs that are vernacular in nature. Usually the star-burst works best as a knock-out negative shape. The best I have seen have used some lighter blues so that this aggressive element can blend and add to the design, but not overwhelm it.

As an added note, the star-burst should not be confused with the lens-flare. That, I’m afraid, has always been poorly used and is dead in my book. Sorry, but I don’t think this cheesy “design element” will ever come back (or ever was) in style.