Elements of Design
Conceptual Elements
Point
Line
Plane
Volume
Indicates position
does not occupy any area of space
Beginning and end of a line
Where 2 lines meet or intersect
Are not visible
Do not actually exist but seem to be present.
Forms the border of a plane
As a point moves it becomes a line.
Has position and direction
It is bound by points
Defines the external limits of a volume
It has length and breadth but no thickness
Visual Elments
Shape
Size
Color
Texture
Anything that can be seen has a shape which provides the main identification in our perception
Three primary planes described by Bauhaus moment where the circle, the square, and the triangle.
Described in terms of bigness and smallness.
Relational Elements
Direction
Position
Space
Gravity
Practical Elements
Frame of Reference
All elements normally exist within a boundary called a "frame of reference".
Governs the placement and interrelationship of the shapes in a design.
Direction and Position are perceived
Space and gravity are felt
Direction of a shape depends on how it is related to the observer, to the frame that contains it, or to other shapes nearby.
The position of a shape is judged by its relationship to the frame or the structure.
Shapes of any size, however small, occupy space. Space can be occupied or left blank. It can be flat or illusory to suggest depth.
The sense of gravity is not visual but psychological. As we are pulled by the gravity of the earth, we tend to attribute heaviness or lightness, stability or instability to individual shapes or groups of shapes.
A shape is distinguished from its surrounding because of color.
Texture refers to the surface characteristics of a shape. This may be plain or decorated, smooth of touch as much as to sight.
Marks the outer limits of a design and defines an area within the created elements and left-over blank space all working together.
Physical frame
should be considered as an integral part of the design.
no physical frame
Edges of a poster, the page of a magazine, the various surfaces of a package all become frames of reference for the respective designs.
Can be any shape, but usually rectangular.
Picture Frame
Lies within the frame of reference
Is the plane surface of the paper upon which the design is created.
Shapes are directly painted or printed on the picture plane
Can appear to be above, below, or unparalleled to it because of spatial illusions