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Elements of Visual Design

The elements and principles of design are the foundational building blocks used to create a visual work. 
The elements of design are the A, B, C's that are put together by any artist or designer to create an image or object.  

The grammar of how these elements are used create the overall visual work.  

Good or bad, all visual works will contain most of these elements, if not all, the nine elements of design.

The principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elements of design.  

Go to the page on Principles of Design for more information.

How we manipulate the elements and principles of design, or, how we employ them, creates an impression that an audience will then interpret. 

These are the artist and designers writing tools of how they express an idea, if you will. 

How we apply the principles of design determines how  successful we are in creating a work of art that delivers an idea the maker intended.

THE ELEMENTS OF VISUAL DESIGN

LINE
Line can be considered in two ways. The linear marks made with any mark making tool onto a ground or substrate. Line can also be implied -- the direction that implied between forms and the edge that is created when forms meet in space.
Wassily Kandinsky

Tom Freidman


Michael Heizer - Earth Art


SHAPE 
A shape is a self contained defined area of geometric or biomorphic organic form. A shape is a flat area that expresses two dimensions.



VOLUME + MASS
Constitutes the actual three dimensional area a form takes up. This thus expresses actual three dimensionality in space, or, the illusion of three dimensionality.


Donald Judd

DIRECTION + MOVEMENT
All lines have direction - Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal Horizontal suggests calmness, stability and tranquillity. 
A horizon line.
Vertical gives a feeling of balance, formality, alertness and activity. 
Diagonal direction suggests a faster, visual speed of line.

Isamu Noguchi

SCALE
Scale is simply the relationship of a form occupying one shape to that of another. 
Chihuahua + Great Dane


SPACE
Space is the scale between objects.

It can also imply depth full space as in the illusion of three dimensionality.  
Linear perspective is a two dimensional drawing invention developed in the Renaissance for target practice and to understand the trajectory of cannon balls, visually suggests depth full space on a two dimensional plane. 

TEXTURE 
Texture is the surface quality of a shape - rough, smooth, soft hard glossy etc. Texture can be physically tactile as well as visually interpreted as having a certain feel.
P.S. This is a drawing of graphite on a smooth piece of paper

COLOR
Also is also known as Hue
Primary Colors + R B Y
Secondary Colors + O G Violet (purple)
Local color - the actual color of things
Optical color - a suggested or express color of things

VALUE
Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.
We know Value as the shades of a color.
A value that is darker is known as a Tone.
Those that are lighter are known as Tints.



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