Graphic Design Discussion about the Elements of Design. What did you already kno
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Graphic Design
Discussion about the Elements of Design. What did you already know? What did you learn and what was surprising or interesting? For you more experienced designers, what will be useful for you?
The Elements of Design the tools to make art Horizontal, vertical, diagonal Line straight, curved, dotted, broken thick, thin 2D (two dimensional flat Shape Geometric (square, circle, oval, triangle) Organic all other shapes) 3D (three dimensional), Geometric (cube, sphere, cone, Form Organic all other forms such as: people, animals, tables, chairs, etc Refers to the wavelengths of light. Refers to hue (name), value (lightness/darkness Colour intensity (saturation, or amount of pigment), and temperature (warm and cool). Relates to tint, tone and shade. The lightness or darkness of an image Value or part of an image The feel, appearance, thickness, Texture or stickiness of a surface (for example: smooth, rough, silky, furry). The area around, within, or between Space images or parts of an image (relates to perspective). Positive and negative space.Explanation / Answer
The elements are components or parts which can be isolated and defined in any visual
design or work of art. They are the structure of the work , and can carry a wide variety of
messages. The details may be differentiated by researchers, but I included ‘point or
mark’, ‘line’, ‘shape’, ‘forms’, ‘space’, ‘color’, and ‘texture’ in this article.
1.Point or Mark
A point or mark is the smallest and most basic element. Often it is the personal
'handwriting' of the artist that can be natural or learned. These can vary in size, value,
regularity or irregularity, and can be used alone or as a unit in a group which forms a line
or shape in the image. Marks can be used to form a value or pattern (placed close together
forms a darker value, further apart forms a lighter value), or to delineate space (larger
means closer, etc.). A good example of the use of marks is the ink drawings of Van
Gogh. The Impressionist painters used what could be called patches; and the Pointillists,
such as Seurat, used the dot.
Even though there is only one point or mark on a white blank page, it can catch our
sight. If there are two points, we will make a connection and see a line. If there are three
points, it is unavoidable to interpret them as a triangle; the mind supplies the connections.
These are called as grouping , or gestalt. Gestalt is the fundamental tool the designer or
artist uses to build a coherent composition.
2.Line
A line is a form with width and length, but no depth. Artists use lines to create edges,
the outlines of objects. A line is created by the movement of the artist's pen.
The direction of a line can convey mood. Horizontal lines are calm and quiet, vertical
lines suggest more of a potential for movement, while diagonal lines strongly suggest
movement and give more of a feeling of vitality to a picture.
3.Shape
Shape is an area that is contained within implied line , or is seen and identified because
of color or value changes. Shapes have two dimensions,length and width, and can be
geometric or free-form. Design in painting is basically the planned arrangement of shapes
in a work of art.In a picture, the shapes that the artist has placed are considered the positive shapes.
The spaces around the shapes are the negative spaces. It is just as important to consider
the negative space in a picture as the positive shapes.
4.Forms
Form describes volume and mass, or the three dimensional aspects of objects that take
up space. (Shape is two-dimensional) Forms can and should be viewed from any angles.
When you hold a baseball, shoe, or small sculpture, you are aware of their curves, angles,
indentations, extensions, and edges---their forms.
5.Space
Actual space is three-dimensional volume that can be empty or filled with objects. It
has width, height, and depth. Space that appears three-dimensional in a two-dimensional
painting is an illusion that creates a feeling of actual depth. Various techniques can be
used to show such visual depth or space.
6.Color
Color has three properties. The first is hue, which is the name of the colors. The
primary hues are yellow, red, and blue. Secondary colors are made by mixing two
primaries. Intermediate colors are mixtures of a primary and adjacent secondary color.
The second property of color is value, which refers to the lightness or darkness of hue.
The third property of color is intensity, which refers to the purity of the hue (also called
"chroma").
7.Texture
Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of artwork.
Techniques used in painting serve to show texture, i.e. the dry brush technique produces a rough simulated quality and heavy application of pigment with a brush or some other implement
produces a rough actual quality.
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Every single element of graphics is required for effective graphic designing.we should focus
on the various factors which are responsible for best practices as follows-
1.Proximity
Proximity means grouping elements together so that you guide the viewer/reader to different parts
of the message. Notice below in the template on the left, taken from Apple’s Pages,related elements are grouped together, as opposed to the linear arrangement of amateur designs as shown on the right.
2.Alignment
Another important design principle is aligning elements in a visual and readable arrangement. Most amateur designers start off by aligning everything in the center of the page, but that’s not the only way. Again with the “scattered” looking design, we can see the alignment of elements that helps keep the design balanced.
The top group of text is left-aligned, and three larger text elements are vertically aligned.It’s importantto be consistent in the alignment of elements. When you look at the design and something doesn’t feel right,play around with the alignment and see if the design can be improved.
3.Repetition
Like the use of repetitious hooks in a song, repeating elements in a graphic design can be visually appealing.
In the two examples below, a numbered list is used, but there’s also the repetition of the blue circles that make a bolder statement.In the layout on the right, the image of the sandwiched is cropped and masked in repeating squares, as well as the use of repeated red strokes above the word “PANE.” Repetition puts emphasis on particular elements of a design, and it draws the reader’s attention to those elements.
4.Contrast
Contrast between design elements can make a presentation stand out and get noticed. Take for example this original template from the personal graphic design site, Canva.com. The elements of the design are grouped together, with strong alignment and repetition of the arrows and bullet points. But for some purposes, the original design could be a little flat.Adding color contrast makes the design pop, and it draws attention to important parts of the presentation and message.
5.White Space
Depending on the presentation, the use of white space can be very powerful in design. It’s useful when you want to make a direct message, to stand out above the clutter found in many graphic designs.
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