! !

ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

JESSICA ID-1

ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The elements and principles of design are the most basic things in order to be able to create a work of art. The elements of design are the things that make up an artwork like paintings, drawing, design, etc. such as: line, color, texture, shape, form, value, and size. On the other hand, the principles of design are the application of the elements of design into the artwork itself. The application of principles of design will influence and determine the successful rate of the artwork.

THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

The elements of design are consisting of line, color, texture, shape, form, value, and size. These things are the basic items to create an artwork.

LINE
Line is a mark or a stroke on an artwork plane that act as a shape or an outline. It can create textures and the volume of a line can be thick or thin. There are many types of line, these include: actual, implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and contour lines.

COLOR
Color deal with specific hue and it has three types of properties: Chroma,! Intensity, and Value. Having a color wheel with all the colors made by the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) are a way of showing the chromatic scale of each colors made by the primary colors. Complimentary pairs of colors will create dull and neutral color. Black and white value Figure 1 Color diagram added to a color will create tints (by adding white), shades (by adding black), and tones (by adding gray).
with different values. The lower the color in the diagram, the more the dark value.

Elements & Principles of Design |

TEXTURE
Textures have two types: visual textures and the tactile textures that we can feel by touching it. Visual textures are made in a form of pictorial textures. It can be made by many medias or simply using pen. On the other hand, tactile textures vary in the feeling of touch. For example the feeling that we got when touching a smooth and a rough surface are different to the touch. That shows how tactile texture works. Tactile textures can be created using media like paint.

SHAPE
There are two kinds of shapes: geometric and organic. Geometric shapes are the shapes that are commonly known for most people like triangles, squares, circles, etc. Organic shapes are asymmetrical and irregular shapes. Most geometric shapes are the things that are made by humans while organic shapes are the shapes that are Figure 2 Above is the examples of shapes. formed by nature. Organic shapes are usually lamp are geometric. The abstract and the being used by an artist if they are attempting
pear shape are organic. The square, triangle, gear, circle, and the

to make a feel that looks natural, soft, or calming. While artists usually used geometric shapes in order to create a rigid, solid, chaos feeling in an artwork. Shapes are flat and have no form of thickness.

FORM
Different with shapes, form is 3D and has volume and thickness. Form can be made by applying shades, tints, and tones to a shape and create a light and shading effect. When those are implied, it will make an illusion to shapes that it has volume and thickness.

VALUE
Value is the relative degree of lightness of darkness of a particular color. It is the contrast between the amount of black and white in a color. For example like

Elements & Principles of Design |

the gradation of dark green into light green. The dark green shows that it has more dark value than the light green.

SIZE
Size is regarding the proportion of an objects, lines, or shapes. It is how much space is being occupied by an object that takes up area when placed inside an artwork.

These elements of design are needed in order to create the principles of design. When using the elements of design, the principles of design will be the result of the application of the elements of design inside an artwork.

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

When you are working in a particular size and shape of the surface of the artwork, the principles of design are used to create an interest, an attention that the harmony and the unity of the artwork are using. The principles of design are the code and recipe of a good artwork. The principles of design combine the elements of design to produce a successful artwork.

CENTER OF INTEREST (FOCAL POINT)

The center of interest or what is usually known as the focal point of an artwork is the first object or area that first caught peoples attention. This object or area usually is more pop out from the other objects. This object or area is usually different from any other spaces in the artwork and so
Figure 3 The picture above has the man in orange clothes as the focal point. This happens because the color tone of the mans clothes is the most different color than the rest of the objects in the photo.

makes peoples attention caught it in the first place. The factors that may
Elements & Principles of Design |
3

make the object a focal point is created by the contrast of color values, placement inside the artwork, etc.

BALANCE
Balance is the equality of space, form, value, color, etc. in an artwork. The balance principle can be applied simply having something symmetrical or even asymmetrical elements in the artwork. Balance can be created using the compositions of objects, values, colors, textures, forms, shapes, etc.

Figure 4 An example of balance principle in an artwork. The big object near the center can be balanced by placing a small object near the edge.

HARMONY
Harmony is the technique of bringing For compositions with similar units together.

example, when an artwork is using the type of wavy and curvy lines, the type of the shapes that is used inside the artwork might want to be organic shapes, because they both results in the same feeling. The curvy lines and organic shapes both resembles a smoother and less rigid feeling, otherwise if the
Figure 5 The soft colors and the

shapes being used are the geometric shapes, the curvy lines both resemble a calm
feeling, which makes the artwork feeling are not the same and didnt go well. How well goes in a harmony.

the feelings are made by applying the elements of design is how harmony principle works.!!

! CONTRAST
Contrast is the differences between two or more objects or area inside an artwork in the term of the elements of design. Contrast can be used to emphasize a certain object especially the focal point. It can be used to differentiate the focal point and the background.

Elements & Principles of Design |

UNITY
Unity is the linking of each of the elements inside the artwork. Its also the flow of how smooth are peoples sight in viewing each objects inside the artwork. Unity describes how is the flow and harmonious of the artwork.

Figure 6 Above are the diagram on how unity can be applied in an artwork.

REPETITION
Repetition is a principle of repeating a certain element of design in an artwork. This repetition can lead in creating a movement inside an artwork. The elements could be simply just lines. For example, repeated lines can create a flowing movement in an artwork in a form of grass lines. Repetition is used in creating a certain feeling of an impression.

The principles of design should be used in an artwork in order to determine its success. The principles are actually the application of the elements of design.

Elements & Principles of Design |

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONTENT REFERENCES
Esaak, S. 2013. unity. [online] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/glossaries/g/u_unity.htm [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013]. Incredibleart.org. 2013. Visual Arts: Elements and Principles of Design. [online] Available at: http://www.incredibleart.org/files/elements2.htm [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013]. John Lovett - Artist. 2013. Elements and Principles of Design. [online] Available at: http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013]. Ontavilla, V. 2012. Visual Arts: Organic and geometric shapes. [online] Available at: http://visualartspdsf.blogspot.com/2012/02/organic-and-geometricshapes.html [Accessed: 14 Sep 2013]. Sophia. 2013. Design in Art: Repetition, Pattern and Rhythm. [online] Available at: http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/design-in-art-repetition-pattern-and-rhythm [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013].

PICTORIAL REFERENCES
Art, M. 2013. MICA Features MA in Community Arts Exhibition July 16-Aug. 1 | MICA. [online] Available at: http://www.mica.edu/News/MICA_Features_MA_in_Community_Arts_Exhibitio n_July_16-Aug_1.html [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013]. Artsconnected.org. 2013. The Artist's Toolkit: Encyclopedia: Line | ArtsConnectEd. [online] Available at: http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/encyc_shapegeorganic.html [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013]. Society, N. 2013. Mammoth Tusk Picture -- Siberia Photo -- National Geographic

Photo of the Day. [online] Available at:

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-theday/mammoth-tusk-arbugaeva/ [Accessed: 15 Sep 2013].

Elements & Principles of Design |