The Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements of Design • Line, shape & form, texture, space, colour and value are the Elements of Design. • The artist uses the elements together to send a visual message. They help to depict the subject matter in a way that expresses the artist’s meaning.

LINE • -begins with a dot and creates a path as it moves-can represent different moods

SHAPE • -a line that begins and ends at the same point • -2-D only (height and width) organic geometric

FORM • -3-D (height, width, and depth) • -enclosed mass or volume • -important for sculptures organic geometric

TEXTURE • Real:the feel of an object’s surface – experienced by touch • Ex. Sandpaper, leather, tree bark, cotton balls, etc. • Simulated: surface has the appearance of being textured but in reality it is smooth – created through the use of colour and value

SPACE: PERSPECTIVE • the distance between two points, the illusion of depth Size Overlap Placement -small = far away-object being blocked-high = far -large = close up looks farther away-low = close

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE • creating illusion of distance by representing objects further away with less clarity of contour and diminished in colour

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE • all parallel lines receding into the distance are drawn to one or more imaginary vanishing points on the horizon.

Converging Lines

COLOUR • Hue: name of colour “red” • Value: dark or light quality of a colour • Intensity: brightness/dullness of a colour • Primary: red, yellow, blue • Secondary: green, orange, purple • Intermediate (tertiary): made by mixing one primary and one Secondary (ex. Blue-green)

COLOUR • Complementary: colours opposite on the colour wheel – red/green, blue/orange, yellow/purple • Analogous: colours next to each other on the colour wheel (ex. Red, red-orange, orange) • Warm/Cool: warm (red, orange, yellow) colours come forward, cool (blue, green, purple) colours move backward • Monochromatic: different values of the same colour (ex. Light blue, blue, dark blue)

MONOCHROMATIC COLOURS

ANALOGOUS COLOURS

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS

WARM AND COOL COLOURS

COLOUR WHEEL

VALUE • dark or light quality of a colour – to lighten, mix with white, to darken, mix with black. • the stronger the contrast, the more dramatic the work • light values = high keyed, dark values = low keyed HIGH KEY LOW KEY

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN • The Principles of Design describe the general ways in which artists arrange the parts of their compositions. These organizers are balance, unity, dominance, variety, pattern, movement and rhythm.

BALANCE • Refers to a way of combining elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a work of art.

BALANCE Symmetrical – formal, simplest kind, -designs with two identical halves Asymmetrical – informal – not the same on both sides -large objects are balanced by smaller objects Radial – organized around a central point -occurs when objects are positioned around a centre point (ex. Bike wheel, flower, etc)

DOMINANCE (OR EMPHASIS) • -using opposing sizes, shapes, colours or other elements to place greater attention on certain areas or shapes • -other details will appear less important, but still add to the work of art.

MOVEMENT • -used to create the look and feeling of action and to guide the viewer’s eye throughout the work of art.

RHYTHM (OR REPETITION) • -closely related to movement. • The placement of repeated elements in a work create a visual tempo or beat.

PATTERN • -combinations of lines, colours, and shapes used in repeated shapes (like wallpaper)

VARIETY (OR CONTRAST) • -difference in values, colours, textures and other elements in an artwork to achieve emphasis and interest (the opposite of repetition)

UNITY (OR HARMONY) • -sense of oneness or wholeness. A single theme using all elements in one pleasing design. • -like musical instruments in an orchestra

The Elements and Principles of Design