Design Elements
Design elements are the basic units of
a visual piece that make up a painting, drawing, design, etc.
These elements include:
Line
A fundamental mark or stroke used in
drawing in which the length is longer than the width. Two connected points form
a line and every line has a length, width, and direction.
Uses
for lines in design
·
Contour
line:
A line that defines or bounds an edge, but not always the outside edge, could
represent a fold or color change.
·
Divide
space: A line that defines the edge of space can also be created by a gap of negative
space.
Many uses include to separate columns, rows of type, or to show a change in
document type.
·
Decoration:
Lines are used in linear shapes and patterns to decorate many different substrates, and can be used to create shadows representing tonal
value, called hatching.
Easily misunderstood, color plays a
huge role in the elements of design. Good color can be used to create drastic
contrasts just as hierarchy, size, scale, and dominance..
Color
star containing primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
Types
of color (general)
·
Primary
color:
The three colors that are equal distant on the color wheel and used to make up
all other colors; red, yellow, and blue.
·
Secondary
color:
A mixture of two primary colors including green, violet, and orange. Secondary
colors are a way to have more vibrant colors.
·
Tertiary
color:
Colors formed from a primary and a secondary color like yellow-green,
red-violet, and yellow-orange.
Perceptual
attributes of color
·
Value
(lightness):
Tints and shades of colors that are created by adding
black to a color for a shade and white for a tint. Creating a tint or shade of
a color reduces the saturation.
Ways
color can guide the reader
·
Aids
organization: Develop a color strategy and stay consistent with those colors.
·
Gives
emphasis: Create a hierarchy or color that leads the reader to the important
information. An example of perceptional emphasis though color is highlighting
important text in red
·
Provides
direction: Using warm and cool colors to relate parts with each other. Warm
colors move elements forward and cool colors move them back. Display text using
warm colors behind a cool color background will stand out and direct the
readers eye.
A shape is defined as an area that
stands out from the space next to or around it due to a defined or implied
boundary, or because of differences of value, color, or texture. All objects are composed of shapes and all
other 'Elements of Design' are shapes in some way.
General
Categories of Shapes
·
Mechanical
Shapes (Geometric Shapes): These are the shapes that can be drawn using a ruler
or compass. Mechanical shapes, wether simple or complex, produce a feeling of
control or order.
·
Organic
Shapes: Freehand drawn shapes that are complex and normally found in nature.
Organic shapes produce a natural feel.
The
tree's visual texture is represented here in this 2-D image.
Meaning the way a surface feels or is
perceived to feel. Texture can be added to attract or repel interest to an
element, depending on the pleasantness of the texture.
Types
of texture
·
Tactile
texture: The actual three-dimension feel of a surface that can be touched.
Painter can use impasto
to build peaks and create texture.
·
Visual
texture: The illusion of the surfaces peaks and valleys, like the tree
pictured. Any texture shown in a photo is a visual texture, meaning the paper
is smooth no matter how rough the image perceives it to be.
Most textures have a natural feel but
still seem to repeat a motif
in some way. Regularly repeating a motif will result in a texture appearing as
a pattern.
In design, space is concerned with the
area the design will take place on. For a two-dimensional design space concerns
creating the illusion of a third dimension on a flat surface.
Major
Methods of Controlling the Illusion of Space
·
Overlap:
Where objects appear to be on top of each other. This illusion makes the top
element look closer to the observer. There is no way to determine the depth of
the space, only the order of closeness.
·
Shading:
Adding gradation marks to make an object of a two-dimensional surface seem
three-dimensional.
·
Five
Kinds of Shading Light: Together these shadows and highlights give an object a
three-dimensional look.
1.
Highlight
2.
Transitional
Light
3.
Core
of the Shadow
4.
Reflected
Light
5.
Cast
Shadow
·
Linear
Perspective: A concept relating to how an object seems smaller the farther away
it gets.
·
Atmospheric
Perspective: Based on how air acts as a filter to change the appearance of
distance objects.
Form
Form is any three dimensional object.
Form can be measured, from top to bottom (height), side to side (width), and
from back to front (depth). Form is also defined by light and dark. There are
two types of form, geometric (man-made) and natural (organic form). Form may be
created by the combining of two or more shapes. It may be enhanced by tone,
texture and color. It can be illustrated or constructed.
The
3 F's
"Form follows
function" is known as the 3 F's of Design. Form refers to what something
looks like, and function refers to how it works.
Principles of Design
Principles applied to the elements
of design that bring them together into one design. How one applies these
principles determines how successful a design may be.
Unity
According to Alex White, author of The
Element of Graphic Design, to achieve visual unity is a main goal of
graphic design. When all elements are in agreement, a design is considered
unified. No individual part is viewed as more important than the whole design.
A good balance between unity and variety must be established to avoid a chaotic
or a lifeless design.
Ways
to achieve unity
·
Proximity:
Elements that are physically close, are considered related.
·
Similarity:
Elements that are related should share similar position, size, color, shape, or
texture.
·
Repetition
and Rhythm: Recurring position, size, color, and use of a graphic element shows
unity. When the repetition has a focal point interruption it is considered
rhythm.
·
Theme
with variation: Altering the basic theme achieves unity and helps keep
interest.
Point, Line, and Plane (PLP)
PLP are the three most basic shapes in
visual design and a good design contains all three. The key to using PLP is
making the shapes overlap and share elements.
·
Point:
In design, a point can be the smallest unit of marking not simply a dot.
Additionally, a point can be a small plane or a short line.
·
Line:
The trace of a point in motion, a thin stroke, or even a narrow plane can be
considered a line. Typed text automatically creates visual lines.
·
Plane:
A plane can be perceived as a trace of a line in motion like dragging a piece
of chalk across a blackboard sideways (long side down). Wide lines and large
points may also create a plane.
Balance
It is a state of equalized tension and
equilibrium, which may not always be calm. A unified design is also visually
balanced so that no space takes away from the whole.
There
are four types of balance
The
top image has symmetrical balance and the bottom image has asymmetrical balance
·
Symmetrical:
A formal balance is a mirror image of one half of the picture. It is vertically
centered, static, and evokes a feeling of class or formality. The objects in
each half of the mirror image may not be identical, but may be mirror images in
sense of color, number of objects or any other element of design.
·
Asymmetrical:
An informal balance that is attention attracting and dynamic. It balances a
number of items of smaller size on one side with a larger one on the other. The
modern feel an asymmetrical design is complex to create as it takes skills to
distribute the blank space.
·
Radial:
Balance arranged around a central element. The elements placed in a radial
balance seem to 'radiate' out from a central point in a circular fashion.
·
Overall:
This mosaic form of balance normally arises from too many elements being put on
a page. Due to the lack of hierarchy and contrast, this form of balance can
look noisy.
Hierarchy
A good design contains elements that
lead the reader through each element in order of its significance. The type and
images should be expressed starting from most important to the least.
Scale
Using the relative size of elements
against each other can attract attention to a focal point. When elements are
designed larger than life, scale is being used to show drama. [5]
Dominance
Dominance is created by contrasting
size, positioning, color, style, or shape. The focal point should dominate the
design with scale and contrast without sacrificing the unity of the whole. [5]
Similarity and Contrast
Some key aspects of a well designed
document include dramatic contrasts, scrupulous similarity, and active white
space. Planning a consistent and similar design is an important aspect of a
designers work to make their focal point visible. Too much similarity is boring
but without similarity important elements will not exist. Also, without
contrast an image is uneventful so the key is to find the balance between
similarity and contrast.
Ways
to Develop a Similar Environment
·
Keep
it simple and eliminate clutter. Do not fill white spaces with garbage.
·
Build
a unique internal organization structure.
·
Manipulate
shapes of images and text to correlate together.
·
Express
continuity from page to page (in publications). Items to watch include headers,
themes, borders, and spaces.
Ways
to Create Contrast
·
Space
o
Filled
vs Empty
o
Near
vs Far
o
2-D
vs 3-D
·
Position
o
Top
vs Bottom
o
Isolated
vs Grouped
o
Centered
vs Off Center
·
Form
o
Simple
vs Complex
o
Beauty
vs Ugly
o
Whole
vs Broken
·
Direction
o
Vertical
vs Horizontal
o
Stability
vs Movement
o
Convex
vs Concave
·
Structure
o
Organized
vs Chaotic
o
Serif
vs Sans Serif
o
Mechanical
vs Hand Drawn
·
Size
o
Big
vs Little
o
Long
vs Short
o
Deep
vs. Shallow
·
Color
o
Grayscale
vs Color
o
Light
vs Dark
o
Warm
vs Cool
·
Texture
o
Fine
vs Coarse
o
Smooth
vs Rough
o
Sharp
vs Dull
·
Density
o
Transparent
vs Opaque
o
Thick
vs Thin
o
Liquid
vs Solid
·
Gravity
o
Light
vs Heavy
o
Stable
vs Unstable
Movement
Implying that an object is moving in a
direction through space (of the page). This principle suggest speed,
instability, or a passing event. Movement seems more dynamic when depth is
implied.
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