By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate
Hannah Kearney, Olympic Freestyle Skier
Have you seen the freestyle skiing in the Olympics? It’s a rush! Skiers appear to effortlessly hop through a rugged course pitted with large moguls, hit a jump where they perform some kind of super twisted flip, land it perfectly on a vertical incline and then do it all over again. The gold medal is awarded to the skier who is both fast, aerodynamic and acrobatic. The clock shows who is the fastest, and the panel of judges decides who is the most acrobatic and smooth on those land-mines they call bumps. Mogul scoring is based on turns (50% of score), air (25% of score), and speed (25% of score). With the turns counting as half of the overall score, they better be good! What constitutes a good turn? Knees close together and pointed downhill. You better believe the athletes want the judge’s attention to be on their knees. Mogul skiers understand something very important that many of us “don’t know that we know”. Attention goes to contrast. The light / dark contrast of Hannah Kearney’s knees, (above), will draw the attention of judges and spectators.
Bob Kraft – New England Patriots Chairman and CEO
Mogul skiing is not the only time when light / dark contrast is strategically placed. Consider your stereotypical CEO – dark jacket, white shirt, and tie. Where is the contrast here? In the image above, your eye is drawn to the contrast between the jacket, shirt collar and the brightly colored red tie, all working together to bring attention to Mr. Kraft’s face, for the point of better communication. Yes, this CEO wants you to focus on what he has to say. It seems that he has a panel of judges to impress as well. How about you?
For more information on the language of clothes, visit www.Conselle.com or www.StyleByDani.com.
Image Management Consultant at Conselle Institute 
