The Elements
of Design
The Elements of Design (Also known as "formal analysis".)
Point: Simplest and most fundamental element—a single dot in any medium. Creates implied lines and shapes: Example: stars. In Art: pointillism, Seurat, Chuck Close.
Line: A continuous mark made by a moving point.
Qualities:
Straight: Implies singularity of purpose.
Angled: Implies change, divergent ideas
Curved: Implies feminine vs masculine, sensuality, confusion, frenzy
Weight: Thin/thick (light-heavy)
Sharpness: Clean-edged vs. fuzzy
Direction: Straightness, angle or curve in relation to viewer, associations to nature
Shape: Two ends of a line meet enclosing a defined space.
Qualities: Two-dimensional, width and height, organic vs geometric, positive vs negative space.
Form/ Mass: Shape with depth. Mass is affected by lighting.
Color: Wavelengths in the electro-magnetic spectrum of visible light.
Value: Related to Light absorption and reflection—essentially a colorless spectrum. Colors may have light and dark values, as can colorless values.
Texture: Surface quality—Smooth/rough, whether by application or by inscription.
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Types of Shape and Form:
Geometric Shape/ Form: Based on mathematical facts about points and lines.
Organic Shape/ Form: Created by or based upon living organisms.
Random Shape/ Form: Created by unconscious human action or incidental influences from nature.
Size: Size is relative to the person perceiving an object or their perspective.
Color: Different wavelengths of light that are reflected or absorbed by an object.
Structure: Placing objects in relation to one another creates structure
Structure Lines: The axes according to which objects are organized.
Concrete Structure: A structure is concrete when the structure lines are visible or actively influence the form of the objects in the structure.
Formal Structure: When objects are evenly distributed in a composition, the structure is formal.
Informal Structure: No regularities in the arrangement of objects in a composition can be discerned.
Graduated Structure: The repetition of the structural elements changes in size or form at an even rate.
Radiated Structure: A formal repetitive structure with structural units that are situated around a common center
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Activities
Visual reproduction is static. An illusion of activity can be created by implication or sequence.
Repetition: Several objects that share a single characteristic, arranged in a composition, even if other characteristics of the objects are different, creates repetition. Repetition can occur in: FORM, SIZE, COLOR/ VALUE, DIRECTION and TEXTURE
Frequency: The rate and/ or distribution of the repetition.
Even Frequency: When the distance between the repeated objects is identical, the repetition has an even frequency. When it is random, the repetition has an uneven frequency.
Rhythm: When the distance between the objects varies in a pattern between several given frequencies, the repetition has rhythm.
Mirroring: When two objects appear as though they are mirror images of each other.
Rotation: The implied path of an object around an axis or axes (ellipse).
Scaling: When an object is enlarged or scaled down.
Movement: The positioning of an object can suggest forces that have influenced or will influence it and move it.
Path: The imagined line which an object will travel.
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Relationships
Static/ Active: Objects in a group will appear to attract one another or imply movement. A composition which implies no movement is static. A composition that implies movement or attraction is active.
Symmetry/ Asymmetry: When objects are identically arranged on both sides of an axis, they are symmetrical
Balance: A composition is balanced when all elements have optical equilibrium.
Diffusion: An irregular dispersion of objects in a composition.
Weight: Through conscious use of the upper and lower areas of a format, associations about how we perceive the world can be made, alluding to earth and sky, and give a composition a sense of weight, the illusion of something that flies, or that flows.