Elements



		Elements of Design 1.0 There are basic ingredients that the artist uses separately or in combination to produce artistic imagery. Their use produces the visual language of art. Balance: Symmetry/Asymmetry Harmony Focal Point Contrast Rhythm Movement Symmetry 1. Balance Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a work of art. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that causes the total image to appear balanced. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical in a work of art. What is it? The visual weight of an image. Balance can relate to symmetry, asymmetry or radial balance. Symmetrical Balance is an even placement of visual weight in the design. Asymmetrical Balance creates uneven spaces, a sense of imbalance making tension and a dynamic suggestion of visual movement. Asymmetrical balance refers to a psychological or "felt" balance. Space and shape don't need to be evenly dispersed on the page Radial Symmetry relates to images emitting from a point like spokes on a wheel or ripples from a pebble tossed into a pond. Why is important? People like balance; we are creatures of symmetry and appreciate it in everything. A design is like a real world building: it needs to be balanced or it doesn’t work. How to achieve it: Color: Colors have weight (Red = Heavy, Baby Blue = Light) Shape: Squares can be heavier than circles Lines: Thin vs. thick Size: larger=heavier Use elements to create stability or a sense of dynamic space. Asymmetry Notes Balance is vital. A design can be ruined by poor balance Balance should not be 50/50 in a boring mathematical sense. Different elements should add up to balance. 2. Harmony Visual harmony is one of the most important aspects of well-developed art and is planned by the artist. Harmony provides the cohesive quailty that makes an artwork feel complete and finished. When all the elements in a work look as though they belong together, the artist has achieved harmony. Nowhere is harmony more important than in an ad campaign. Creating harmony is a form of branding: you must establish a look and attitude that are recognizable even before the content of the ad is read. Too olften, the tendency is to take our assignments so seriously that we forget the value of whimsy and entertaining design in making customers feel good about the products we are endeavoring to sell. Source: Design Basics for Creative Results by Bryan L. Peterson Vincent van Gogh - "Starry Night", 1889 Further Definition Harmony is a measure of how the elements of a page seem to fit together - to belong together. A unified work of art represents first a whole, then the sum of its parts. What is it? All of the design elements (images, fonts) are consistent with each other in shape, style and colour and consistent with the overall message of the image and from a commercial point of view, its target market. Why is important? Establishing and maintaining a consistency throughout your printed piece is essential to the success of your design. If there is no harmony then the main message of the design may be lost or miss the targeted audience. Harmony helps to hold the image together both image wise and message wise. How to achieve it: Similarity: Repeating colors, shapes, values, textures, or lines creates a visual relationship between elements, called correspondence. Color symbolism: Colors that work together with the message; e.g. an environmental action poster would do well with greens and other natural colors. The color supports the message. Shapes & Lines: Are they curved and soft in an organic sense, or hard and sharp at right angles for something to do with computers? Size: One element is not overwhelming another to the point it’s lost Fonts: Work together with design elements (e.g. curvy lines with curvy fonts, rigid line with rigid fonts.) Fonts help convey/support the message. Style: Overall style creates a united message. A wedding invitation has certain style elements that give it instant reorganization (e.g. wedding bells, doves, flowers, bride and groom images, a flowing script style font.) An ad for a certain brand of wedding invitations would use wedding elements in its design. Style also talks to the targeted audience; the overall style of a hip hop CD design would be radically different from the design of a Gilbert and Sullivan CD. Each design would be tailored to the market and the products’ respective tastes and pre-existing established styles. Proximity: The simplest method of making objects appear to belong together is to group them closely together. This allows us to see a pattern. Repetition/Pattern: Another method often used to promote unity is the use of repetition. Repetition of color, shape, texture or object can be used to tie a work together. Continuation: A much more subtle method of unifying a work involves the continuation of line, edge or direction from one area to another. Continuation is often used in books and magazines to tie the elements of a page together with the use of rules, and by lining up edges of copy, headlines and graphics. Notes Is the layout seen and perceived as a single, unified whole? Are there things that just don't feel right, like a sore thumb sticking out? 3. Focal Point A Focal Point is used by artists to create dominance and focus in their work. Artists can emphasize color, value, shapes, or other art elements to achieve dominance. Various kinds of contrast can be used to emphasize a center of interest. Focal areas emphasize the most important aspect of a work of art. Visual emphasis on a focal area can be achieved by using the strongest light and dark value contrasts. It can also be developed by using other strong contrasts of art elements, such as shape. Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions 3. Focal Point is also known as dominance in graphic design. What is it? The first thing the eye sees on a design. Traditionally this was the central part of the design, from which all other parts radiated. Why is important? Design is to manipulate the viewer; dominance is where the viewer is to start looking There is an order in a design. You want the viewer to follow the correct direction, getting information in the correct order. To do this you need to force them to a specific start point on the design. It gets the viewer's attention. How to achieve it: Through the use of some elements: Color Image Text or Words Contrast (Contrasting colors, e.g. black on white) Size (Bigger image vs. smaller) Notes Be careful that your focal point doesn’t overwhelm the whole image. Too much dominance and the viewer will see nothing else. 4. Contrast Contrast refers to differences in values, colors, textures, shapes, and other elements. Contrasts create visual excitement, and add interest to the work. If all the art elements - value, for example - are the same, the result is monotonous and unexciting. How to achieve it: value contrast color intensity and temperature texture contrast shape and size contrast 5.Rhythm Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement - colors, shapes or lines. Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and active, and to avoid monotony. Movement and rhythm work together to create the visual equivalent of a musical beat. Definition: a patterned repetition of a motif, formal element, etc., at regular or irregular intervals in the same or a modified form. How to achieve it: incorporate regular, irregular and progressive rhythms repetition of colors, shapes, and lines to create rhythm 6. Movement Visual movement is used by artists to direct viewers through their work, often to a focal area. Such movements can be directed along lines, edges, shapes, and colors within the works, but moves the eye most easily on paths of equal value. In graphic design, movement is also known as flow. Flow is the combination of elements to guide the viewer around the design in the correct direction. Flow begins and ends with the dominant element to help keep the eye moving constantly around the design. You never want the eye to stop. Series 1 Number 4,Georgia O'Keeffe, 1918 Why is important? You want the viewer to see everything in the correct order and you want the viewer to look at your design for as long as possible. Flow can achieve this. How to achieve it: Lines: The eye will naturally follow lines from start to end Abstracted arrows Text: headlines; people read from left to right