Elements of Design

​The Elements of Design

Learn how to bring together the basic building blocks of art and design to create meaning and interest

There are 7 Elements of Design

• Create emotion in the viewer

• Create striking visual patterns

• Create emphasis on a word or phrase

• Lead the viewer's eye

• Connect Content​

In the following slides, we'll take a look at how line does these things

Lines are used in in print for many purposes...

Type: Whatever a line is made up of, it can be curved, dotted, zigzag or straight

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Direction: ​Vertical, hortizontal, diagonal

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Weight: How thick or thin a line is​. Can change

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Lines for Emotion

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Poll

How does this line make you feel?

• Happy

• Sad

• Angry

• E

Poll

How does this line make you feel?

• Happy

• Sad

• Angry

• Excited

By using a variety of type, weight, and/or direction of lines in a composition, we can underline or point out where we want the viewer to look first.

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Lines for Emphasis

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We'll see another technique for this

Multiple Choice

How did the designer create emphasis with line in this picture?

• Changed the Direction & Weight

• Changed the Weight & Type

• Changed the Direction & Type

• Changed the Direction & Colour

Multiple Choice

How did the designer create emphasis with line in this picture?

• Changed the Direction

• Changed the Weight

• Changed the Type

• Changed the Colour

We can use the direction of a line to "lead" the viewer's eye throughout the image or to the subject.​

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Leading Lines

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Multiple Choice

Where do the leading lines draw our attention to?

• The buildings in the background

• The fence

• The woman with the umbrella

• The shadows in the background

Multiple Choice

The leading line leads the eye away from the subject.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

According to the video we watched, which shape shows Power & Energy?

• Square

• Triangle

• Circle

• Rectangle

Multiple Choice

According to the video we watched, which shape shows Love & Unity?

• Square

• Triangle

• Circle

• Rectangle

Multiple Choice

According to the video we watched, which shape shows Balance & Stability?

• Square

• Triangle

• Circle

• Rectangle

• Are 2D (have a Width & Height)

• Can be used as visual elements to Attract Attention (especially odd shapes) ​

• Create different moods/meaning​

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Shapes:

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• Are 3D (have a Length, Width, & Height)

• ​Actual Form: Has actual form. Something that exists in 3D space that we can walk around.

• Illusion of Form: Using shading or perspective to make a flat drawing appear to be 3D​

• Examples: Cylinder, cone Sphere, Cube

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Forms:

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• Free form, Curvy, & Spontaneous ​

• Feel more natural​

• e.g. trees, grass, leaves, humans, etc.​

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Shapes & Forms Can be Organic:​

• Precise, Angular, & Regular

  • Example: circle, square, triangle, rectangle​

• Feels more human-made

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Shapes & Forms Can be Geometric:

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Match

Match the following:

Organic Form

Geometric Form

Organic Shape

Geometric Shape

• Organic Form

• Geometric Form

• Organic Shape

• Geometric Shape

• The area around or between elements in a design

• Defines important elements

• Can be used to separate elements

Space:​

• Can be defined as:

  • Positive Space: The subject or the filled space in a design.

  • Negative Space: The empty space around and between the subjects of an image

• Makes your space uncluttered: Artists & Designers try to balance positive & negative space to avoid overwhelming the viewer.​

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Space:​

Designers & artists can also have a lot of fun playing with positive & negative space, as you can see in this logo.

Draw

Draw a picture below. Label the positive space & the negative space

Open Ended

What is the first thing you notice in this ad?

4 techniques used to create the illusion of DEPTH in a 2D image.

• Linear Perspective (e.g. one-point perspective)​

• Value & detail (e.g. Atmospheric Perspective)

• Size/Scale

• Placement & Overlap

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Creating Depth

​Parallel lines converge/meet towards a vanishing point

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There is also 2-point & 3-point perspective​, which are more complicated.

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Linear Perspective

Draw

Draw a cube below using linear perspective. Label your vanishing point & horizon line

Also known as Atmospheric perspective. The atmosphere and the dust in the sky impact how we see things off in the distance.

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• Objects that are closer are more detailed & darker

• Objects th​at are further away are less detailed & lighter

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Value & Detail

Objects that are closer appear larger than those that are behind them - regardless of their actual size​

​In a design, it....

• Defines importance

• Creates visual interest

• Attracts Attention

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Size/Scale

Multiple Choice

If you wanted to draw attention to a subject/object in your design, you would make it...

• Bigger than the other objects

• Smaller than the other objects

• The same size as the other objects

Multiple Choice

The larger the element...

• The less important it is

• The more important it is

​Objects that are closer appear to overlap those that are behind them.

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Placement & Overlap

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• Refers to the lightness or darkness of a hue (e.g. like a gradient)

• ​Creates depth, light, and contrast

• Can create emphasis, pattern, and lead the eye.​

Value:​

Hue: A colour

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Tint: Colour + White

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Shade:​ Colour + Black

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Tone: Colour + Grey​

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​Hue, Tints, & Shades

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Can use the values of a single hue/colour to create a unified colour scheme

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Monochromatic Colour Scheme

Value can create a sense of space and depth by...

• Shading objects to make them look 3D

• Atmospheric perspective​

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Depth & Light

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• High contrast designs show a big difference between light & dark values. Often has a smaller range in values

• Can make a design more dramatic and stand out

Contrast & Emphasis

​Low contrast: Greater range in values & less difference between light and dark.

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While High contrast images make a design more dramatic/intense, low contrast images make a design feel softer/gentler.

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Value & Mood

Multiple Choice

Is this design an example of a high contrast or low contrast image?

• Low contrast

• High Contrast

Multiple Choice

Is this design an example of a high contrast or low contrast image?

• Low Contrast

• High Contrast

Multiple Choice

Is this design an example of a high contrast or low contrast image?

• Low Contrast

• High Contrast

• Is the look or feel of an object

• Adds Depth & Visual interest because it appeals to our sense of touch

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Texture:

• ​Actual Texture: The actual physical surface of an artwork or design

• Implied Texture: Makes printed paper appear to have another texture​

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Actual vs. Implied

Multiple Choice

Is this an example of Real or Implied texture?

• Real

• Implied

Multiple Choice

Texture adds interest in a poster because it appeals to which of our senses?

• Sight

• Taste

• Touch

• Hearing

• Primary: Red, Yellow, & Blue

• Secondary: When we Mix 2 primaries

  • Red + Yellow = Orange

  • Red + Blue = Violet

  • Blue + Yellow = Green

• Tertiary: When we mix a primary + secondary

  • Red + Violet = Red-Violet

  • Blue + Green = Blue-Green

  • Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green

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The Colour Wheel

• Hue: The colour

• Value: How light or dark a colour/hue is

• Intensity/Saturation: How bright or dull the colour/hue is

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• Monochromatic: A colour scheme made up of different values of a single colour/hue.

• Complimentary: Colours that are opposite of each other on the colour wheel. Have greater contrast and intensity together.

• Analogous: Colours that are close on the colour wheel. Feel more natural.

• Warm & Cool: Warm colours feel hot (i.e. red, orange, yellow) and cool colours feel cold (i.e. blue, purple, green)

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Colour Schemes

Multiple Choice

Blue is a _______ colour

• Analogous

• Complimentary

• Warm

• Cool

Multiple Choice

Blue & orange are _______ colours

• Analogous

• Complimentary

• Warm

• Cool

Multiple Choice

Blue & blue-violet are _______ colours

• Analogous

• Complimentary

• Secondary

• Tertiary

Multiple Choice

Blue-violet is a _______ colour

• Analogous

• Complimentary

• Secondary

• Tertiary

Multiple Choice

This poster is an example of a colour scheme that is...

• Monochromatic

• Cool

• Desaturated

• Saturated

Multiple Choice

This poster is an example of a colour scheme that is...

• Monochromatic

• Cool

• Desaturated

• Saturated

Multiple Choice

The designer created emphasis in this poster using colours that....

• Fit well together

• Contrast

• That have different Values

• That have the same values

• Can be used to create emphasis (e.g. complimentary contrast)

• Create visual interest or grab attention

• Used to generate emotions

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Colour in Design

Open Ended

What emotion/s does yellow make you feel? Why?

Open Ended

What emotion/s does red make you feel? Why?

Open Ended

What emotion/s does green make you feel? Why?

​Almost there, only a few more questions...