ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES

OF DESIGN PROJECT
By Abram Ash

LINE
A line is straight, horizontal, Vertical, diagonal, zig zag, curved mark made by
a writing utensil.

SHAPE
Geometric: shapes -- circles, rectangles, squares, triangles and so on -- have
the clear edges one achieves when using tools to create them.
Organic: shapes have natural, less well-defined edges (think: an amoeba, or a
cloud).

FORM
An "organic" or "natural" form is loose and undefined. Often things found in
nature are organic forms, like clouds. Clouds have no set form, and no
geometric lines or angles.
"Geometric" or "inorganic" forms have hard, defined lines and angles, and
don't vary too much. Often man-made things have these kinds of forms, which
must be measured to come out "correctly."

SPACE
Space refers to distances or areas around, between or within components of
a piece. Space can be positive (white or light) or negative (black or dark),
open or closed, shallow or deep and two-dimensional or three-dimensional.
Sometimes space isn't actually within a piece, but the illusion of it is.

TEXTURE
Texture is used to describe either the way a three-dimensional work actually
feels when touched, or the visual "feel" of a two-dimensional work.

The Starry Night made by

Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

COLOR
Color is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is
reflected back to the eye. There are three 3 properties to color. First is hue,
which simply means the name we give to a color (red, yellow, blue, etc.).

COLOR PART TWO

The second property is intensity, which refers to the strength and vividness of
the color. For example, we may describe the color blue as "royal" (bright, rich,
vibrant) or "dull" (grayed).

COLOR PART THREE

The third and final property of color is its value, meaning its lightness or
darkness. The terms shade and tint are in reference to value changes in colors.

VALUE
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

UNITY
Unity occurs when all of the elements of a piece combine to make a
balanced, harmonious, complete whole.

MOVEMENT
Movement adds excitement to your work by showing action and directing the
viewers eye throughout the picture plane.

PATTERN
Pattern means the repetition of an element (or elements) in a work.

SCALE
Scale in drawing refers to the proportion or ratio that defines the size
relationships.

BALANCE
As a basic principle of art (specifically of design), the definition of Balance
refers to the ways in which the elements (lines, shapes, colors, textures, etc.) of
a piece are arranged.

BALANCE PART TWO

Balance can be symmetrical ("formal"), where elements are given equal
"weight" from an imaginary line in the middle of a piece.

BALANCE PART THREE

Balance doesn't necessarily mean symmetry, though. Asymmetrical
("informal") balance occurs when elements are placed unevenly in a piece,
but work together to produce harmony overall.

EMPHASIS
Emphasis is a principle of art which occurs any time an element of a piece is
given dominance by the artist. In other words, the artist makes part of the work
stand out, in order to draw the viewer's eye there first.

CONTRAST
Contrast is a principle of art. When defining it, art experts refer to the
arrangement of opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth
textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a piece so as to create visual interest,
excitement and drama.