Intro
If you’re a design nerd like me and are looking for some fun ways to test your abilities at kerning, color matching, and using vector operations with the pen tool, I’ve stumbled upon the perfect website! It’s called Method of Action (https://method.ac), and I first saw it on TikTok while scrolling through my graphic design-filled For You page. There are five games on the site, and I’ll give a brief description of each one.
The Boolean Game
The Boolean Game is one that really helps visualize the features of the Shape Mode tools. It gives you an object to create with given shapes, and once you fill in the spaces by combining the shapes, there are options for “union,” “subtract,” “intersect,” and “difference.” The options at the bottom are very similar to the icons shown in the Adobe programs, and by choosing one, the website will tell you if you’re correct by showing an animation of the layers of shapes and how they interact. There are a bunch of stages, separated by the type of Shape Mode and level of difficulty.
The Bézier Game
The Bézier Game is solely based on the capabilities of the pen tool. Here, you’ll get different outlines of shapes, and your goal is to complete the shape with as few “nodes” as possible. Start off by clicking where the anchor point starts, and once you complete the shape, it tells you how many points you completed it in, and if there’s a more ideal solution with less moves.
Color
Color is probably my favorite game on this site, and there are six different levels to play. Your goal is to match the color it gives you in about 10-20 seconds. The first level is “hue,” where you try to match the exact color on the wheel. The second level, “saturation,” is harder, now adding in the challenge of matching the color with the tint and shade too. “Complementary” is the third level, where two colors opposite each other must be matched (don’t worry, when you move your cursor it lines up the colors that are exactly opposite). The fourth level is “analogous,” where you match three colors that are next to each other on the wheel. Similar to “complementary,” your cursor is aligned so that all three colors move with your mouse. The fifth level is “triadic,” where your goal is to match three colors forming a triangle along points on the wheel. Finally, the sixth level is “tetradic,” which follows a similar rule of “triadic,” except you’re matching four colors in quadrants of the wheel. This game is super helpful in determining how we perceive colors, and is interesting to see how close you can get on a time limit.
ShapeType
ShapeType is a game that tests your ability to see subtle differences in points in letterforms. You start off with a letter, and there are some highlighted points for you to adjust to make the letter smoother or more accurately shaped based on the typeface. Once you make your corrections and click “Compare”, the site tells you a percentage of how close to the original letterform you are based on your adjustments.
KernType
KernType is also another one of my favorites, and pretty self-explanatory. In this game, you’re given a word, with some letters that are visibly incorrectly kerned. Your job is to move a couple of letters to make the kerning even and visually spaced. Once you click “Done” the site gives you a score out of 100, and shows the correct kerning versus your adjustments. This is super helpful in training your eye to see differences in letter spacing, so I’d definitely recommend trying this game out to prepare for any typography courses!
Happy Gaming!
Hope you liked reading about these fun resources to up your graphic design game, and hopefully, you’ll try them!