1. The Principles and Elements of Design
By: Aspen King and The Lone Peak High School Visual Arts Department

2. Elements v.s. Principles:
The Elements of Design are the basic “ingredients” that go into each and every art piece you make!
These elements can help you to create a strong and powerful piece of art, when combined together they make up the Principles of Design!

3. Elements and Principles of Design
-Line
-Shape
-Form
-Color
-Value
-Texture
-Space
Principles:
Balance
Emphasis & Focal Point
Contrast
Movement
Variety
Pattern & Repetition
Unity
Harmony/Gestalt

4. Line Contour Wavy Diagonal Slanted Broken Continuous Curved Solid
A line is defined as a mark with length and direction, created by a point that moves across a surface. A line can vary in length, width, direction, curvature, and color.
Contour
Diagonal
Broken
Curved
Outline
Implied
Horizontal
Vertical
Zigzag
Wavy
Slanted
Continuous
Solid
Narrow
Bold
Cross Hatch
Hatched

10. Andy Goldsworthy Keith Haring Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm
Jasper Johns, 0-9 (continuous line)
Andy Goldsworthy
Keith Haring

11. Shape There are two types of shape
Geometric: These are the shapes you recognize and know names for. They have exact measurements and are not frequently seen in nature. You may recognize these from math class as well.
Organic: These are also known as “free-form” They are unpredictable and flowing in appearance. Many of these shapes are found in nature like the shape of a leaf or the outline of a tree.

12. Geometric Shapes in art
The circles and squares that make up this sculpture are geometric shapes.
Claes Oldenburg 
Geometric Mouse - Scale A 
1969/1971 
aluminum, steel, paint

13. Piet mondrian

14. Cubism – the art of shapes
Pablo Picasso
Three Musicians 1971 

Juan Gris Violin and Glass 1915 


15. Organic shapes in art
In this photograph of a real pepper, the gently curving outline of the form is an organic shape. The artist used light to highlight the form and show depth. The shapes of the highlights are also organic.
Edward Weston 
Pepper No. 30 
1930

16. Vincent Van Gogh
Irises
Gustav Klimt
Farmhouse with Birch Trees

17. When geometric and organic collide
When combining both geometric and organic shapes in one piece art, the art gains a sense of excitement and CONTRAST. When done effectively, BALANCE is created.
Louise Nevelson
Case With Five Baulisters
Dextra Quotskuyva
Awatovi Birds

18. FORM: implied or real 3 dimensional space or volume

19. MC Escher, Self Portrait

20. Vincent Van Gogh, Shoes
Tamara de Lempicka
Portrait of Ira P. 1925

21. Element: VALUE
Value :
Value is the relative degree of lightness and darkness in a design element. Value may also be called Tone!

22. Why is Value an important Element?
Other elements, such as Line, Color, Texture and Shape all need value contrast in order to be seen.

23. Value is used to describe objects, shapes and space!
Light areas tend to denote
happiness
fun
gaiety
warmth
closeness
Dark areas tend to denote
gloom
mystery
drama
menace

24. Texture
Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders the surface area
Oppenheim
Fur-lined cup

25. Texture Actual and Implied
Albrecht Durer
Rhinocerus
Golsdworthy

26. Element: Color
Color is the part of light that is reflected by the object we see. Color may also be called Hue.

27. Primary and Secondary Colors
* The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. They are called primary because they are not mixtures of other colors.
*Mixing any two primary colors results in a secondary color. Green, Purple, Orange and anything in between!
A color wheel is the easiest way to look at colors and their relationship with one another.

28. Use color to create contrast and emphasis in your pieces!
This helps to make things stand out or POP in your artwork!

29. Warm Colors
Colors that are often described as being higher in temperature
Reds, oranges, yellows
Associated with fire and sun
Optically, appear to advance
Stimulating and passionate

30. Ex. Warm

31. Cool Colors that are often described as being lower in temperature
Greens, Blues, and Violet
Associated with water, sky, and spring
Optically, they appear to recede
Calming and depressing

32. Ex. Cool

33. Picasso, the Old Guitarist
Color and Mood
Van Gogh, the Night Cafe
Picasso, the Old Guitarist

34. Space Space is two-dimensional and encloses area.
MC Escher

35. Space
Positive space is filled by a shape or form. Negative space surrounds a shape object, or form.

36. Space/Depth May be created by overlapping, change in scale, perspective, placement, color theory, or projection toward the viewer.
David Hockney
Place Furstenberg, Paris, August 7,8,9, #11985

37. Wayne Thiebaud, Around the Cake
Balance
Balance is a sense of stability in the body of work. Balance refers to the equal distribution of weight or force among visual units.
You can use either negative or positive shapes to create an equilibrium among compositional units, regardless of variations in their size, weight or shape.
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
Wayne Thiebaud, Around the Cake

38. The three major forms of balance:
Asymmetrical balance: where equilibrium is achieved by the balance differences in the art elements within a composition.
Symmetrical balance: where the art elements in a composition are balanced in a mirror-like fashion (it does not have to be exact but close).
Radial balance: a kind of balance where the elements branch or radiate out from a central point.

39. What kind of balance is illustrated in this painting Oriental Poppies, by Georgia O’Keefe?
                                  

40. If you said symmetrical balance, you are correct
If you said symmetrical balance, you are correct! If you could visually divide the paper in half. There would be a poppy on both sides. No one side dominates the pictures. Neither poppy appears to be more important than the other.

41. What type of balance is shown in this painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother (commonly known as Whistler’s Mother), by James Whistler?
                                         

42. If you said, asymmetrical balance, you were right
If you said, asymmetrical balance, you were right! The large form of the woman is "visually equal" to the black curtain and white painting on the wall. This makes the painting appear balanced.

43. What type of balance is shown in this stained glass artwork, Rose Window?
                                                                                                    

44. Radial Balance. Look at the spiral or spinning effect of the pattern
Radial Balance! Look at the spiral or spinning effect of the pattern. The axis is the center point and the design or pattern appears to "radiate" from that point.

45. What type of balance is shown here?
George Seurat, (French) , Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Here the larger figures to the right are balanced by the many smaller figures to the left. Also, Seurat added additional "light" to the left. How does this add balance to the painting?

46. What type of balance is shown here?
The monkey and the the cat balance each other out on either side of the woman.
Freda Khalo, Autorretarto con Collre de Espinas y Colibri,

47. Variety
Variety refers to the differences in the work. Variety can also give a quality of diversion, disunity, or tension in a composition
How can you achieve variety by using different:
Lines
Shapes
Textures
Colors
Values

49. Variety
Stuart Davis
Andy Warhol

51. Edward Munch, the Scream
Movement
Movement is a principle of design that refers to how the viewers eye moves through the the composition.
Edward Munch, the Scream

52. Movement Umberto Boccioni, Unique forms of continuity in space
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending Staircase

53. Dominance & Subordination
The part of a compositionThe part of a composition that is emphasizedThe part of a composition that is emphasized, has the greatest visual weight, the most important, powerful, or has the most influence.

54. Emphasis & Focal Point
Emphasis - Any forcefulness that gives importance to some feature or features of an artwork; something singled out, stressed, or drawn attention to by means of contrast, anomaly, or counterpoint Focal Point = portion of an artwork's composition on which interest or attention centers
David Hockney

55. Emphasis & Focal Point
Barbara Kruger
Rene Magritte

56. Arts and Crafts Movement
Pattern & Repetition
Involves multiples of the same element. Repeated elements can vary in size, color, or axis placement. Repeated elements can create a pattern. The use of repetition may be applied to all Visual Elements. Motion can be created by repetition.
William Morris
Arts and Crafts Movement

57. Chuck Close, Self Portrait, detail
Pattern & Repetition
Chuck Close, Self Portrait, detail

58. Principle: Contrast
CONTRAST: The juxtaposition of opposing elements in a piece!
Such as, Opposite colors on the color wheel (Red and Green, Blue and Orange) Contrast in Tone or Value (Light to Dark) Contrast in direction (Horizontal to Vertical)

59. Principle: Emphasis
Emphasis is created by contrasting size, positioning, color, style or shape. The focal point of your piece is usually created by emphasis.

60. How to create areas of emphasis in your art:
1. Contrast a shape with its surroundings.
2. Create a contrast of temperature
3. Use a darker or lighter value
4. Focus attention with converging lines
5. Isolate the object you want to emphasize
6. Increase an object’s intensity of color

61. Unity & Harmony
The quality of wholeness or oneness (Gestalt) that is achieved through the effective use of the elements and principles of design.
Claude Monet
Haystacks

62. Unity
Cezanne
Wayne Theibaud

63. Van Gogh “Starry Night”
Unity
Van Gogh “Starry Night”

64. What Elements and Principles stand out?

65. What Elements and Principles stand out?
Goya, “The 5th of May”

66. What Elements and Principles stand out?
Gauguin

67. What Elements and Principles stand out?*