Mrs. Tegen Multimedia

Design Elements and Principles describe fundamental ideas about the practice of good visual design that are assumed to be the basis of all intentional visual design strategies. The elements form the 'vocabulary' of the design, while the principles constitute the broader structural aspects of its composition.visual design Design Elements and Principles

We think of the elements as the basic visual material with which to make art. Is hard to imagine anything visual without the use of one or more of these elements. Design Elements

Lines can be long or short, straight or curved. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. They create patterns. Lines in graphic design can be solid, dashed, thick, thin, or of variable width. LINE as an Element of Design

Circle, square, and triangle are the three basic shapes used in graphic design. Shapes as an Element of Design

Color is everywhere. Color is used to attract attention. It can be subtle or bold. Color can be used to elicit specific emotions and reactions. Color as an Element of Design

We think of the principles as ways to work with and arrange the elements. Design Principles

S-CURVE Leading line that draws the eye of the viewer along an s- shaped path through the foreground, middle ground and background picture

VANISHING POINT A set of parallel lines (for example, the sides of a road, railroad tracks, sides of a stream, etc.) appears to converge at the horizon line, forming an upside- down V-shape.

CONTRAST TWO DIFFERENT TEXTURES Texture is the way something feels. Visual texture is the way something looks like it would feel. Note: texture shows more clearly when light is coming from the side of the objects.

TYPES OF SHAPE: Geometric Geometric shapes are shapes like squares, triangles, rectangles, circles, etc.

TYPES OF SHAPE: Organic Organic shapes are irregular, ‘amoeba- like’ shapes such as the petals of a flower

BIRD’S EYE VIEW An object or scene from above - the way a bird in flight might see it.

WORM’S EYE VIEW Object / scene from ground level looking upward - the way a worm might see it.

FOREGROUND FRAME Things in the foreground area of a picture (the area closest to you), like the branches of a tree or an interesting railing or fence, that create a kind of ‘frame’ around a more distant object or scene in the background area of a picture. (foreground & background are all in sharp focus!)

UNITY/ VARIETY /SET Organizing visual information into categories or groups to tie the composition together, to give it a sense of wholeness, or to break it apart and give it a sense of variety.

Rhythm is the repetition of elements, often with defined intervals between them. Rhythm can create a sense of movement, and can establish pattern and texture. There are many different kinds of rhythm, often defined by the feeling it evokes when looking at it. PATTERN / RHYTHM / REPETITION

OPEN FORM SHAPE An open form photo is one that does not include the whole outline of an object - what the rest of the object looks like is left open to the viewer’s imagination.

LIGHT & DARK VALUES: SILHOUETTE A silhouette is created when the light behind your subject is much, much stronger than any light falling on the front of your subject.

LIGHT & DARK VALUES: SHADOWS A silhouette is created when the light behind your subject is much, much stronger than any light falling on the front of your subject.

RADIAL - BALANCE When there is a center area or focal point in your photo and all of the objects / elements ‘radiate’ outward from that point like the petals on a flower or the spokes on a wheel.

RULE OF THIRDS BALANCE Imagine lines dividing your composition into thirds vertically & horizontally. Place your center of interest on one of the lines or on or near the point where two lines intersect.

PROPORTION / SCALE In order to show the scale (proportional size) of one object in your photo, you need to place another object of known size near that first object.