Visual Design Elements
Visual Design Elements - the things that make up a painting, drawing, design etc.
Line:
One-dimensional and represents length (a distance between two points).
Shape:
Two-dimensional enclosed spaces showing both width and height.
Form:
A three-dimensional shape that has height, depth and width.
Tone:
Used to describe form through highlights and shadows
Texture:
Colour:
Can attract attention, attract feelings and moods and convey messages instantly
Man-Made (Manufactured) surfaces: fabric, paper, printed text, bricks and glass
Shape can be both geometric and organic (natural shapes).
Creates 2D and 3D effect
Text:
Can be used in combination to create a shape, tone, form and texture
The use of weight (width) and style (squiggly, curved or straight), lines can convey a particular mood or emotion in a visual design
Can be defined by other design elements, such as colour, texture and tone
Creating an illusion of 3 dimensional shape is achieved using other elements such as line, tone and colour
Gives solidity, volume and weight to an image
gives the impression of distance. Darker tones come forward and lighter tones go back into the image
Can give emotion to an image. Highly contrasting tones give life and energy, softer tones give a gentle mood
Natural Surfaces: tree bark, leaves, rocks, water ripples, sand and skin fur
Imperfections, added textures: scratches, tears, cracks, rust, splotches and stains
Three main components of colour:
Hue - another name for colour Perceived Colour from the Colour spectrum
Value - measures the brightness. (lightness or darkness of the colour)
Saturation - refers to how vivid and intense a color is. When a colour's saturation level is reduced it becomes a shade of grey
Use colour to:
Label or show hierarchy
Represent or imitate reality
Unify, separate or emphasize
Decorate
Convey emotion or feeling
Colour can suggest: feelings, emotions, ideas
Typography should be:
Legibility: Audiences should be able to read the typeface
Uniformity or consistency: Typically only 2 types of font should be used in a design. One for headings, one for paragraphs.
Repetition: Repeating familiar elements focuses audience’s attention.
Similarity, alignment: uses same formatting. ie: all headings center aligned
Contrast: can be achieved with different coloured fonts.
Hierarchy: making sure the audience understands that information has different levels of importance.
All shapes can be described as either positive or negative:
Positive shapes are the shapes of actual objects
Negative shapes are the areas between these objects
A non proportional font has letters equally spaced apart, proportional font spaces are different sizes for wider letters