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INTRODUCTION
ELEMENTS OF
DESIGN
Presented by:
JEFFREY M. TAPAC, MAEd-THE
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INTRODUCTION TO THE
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Not all of the highest-quality equipment in the world
can guarantee that you take great pictures. Even knowing
how to use the camera effectively, setting exposures, depth
of field, etc., will not necessarily give your photos thedescription that all photographers strive for: art. Certainly,
these things help, but capturing that elusive artistic quality
requires special skills that every photographer worth his
tripod must possess. For this, we turn to what are calledthe Elements and Principles of Design.These are few
basic concept that anyone can learn and will allow you to
lay out your photos in an eye-pleasing way, or even snare
that rare beast we call art.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
ELEMENTS
components or parts which can be isolatedand defined in any visual design or work of
art
the structure of the work
can carry a wide variety of messages.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
All designs have certain basic elements orbuilding blocks chosen to convey the
message beyond the actual words or
photos used.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
What are the different
Elements of Design?
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
1. POINTEven if there is only one point, one mark on a
blank page there is something built into the brain that
wills meaning for it, and seeks some kind ofrelationship or order, if only to use it as a point of
orientation in relation to the outline of the page. If there
are two points, immediately the eye will make a
connection and "see" a line. If there are three points, itis unavoidable to interpret them as a triangle; the mind
supplies the connections. This compulsion to connect
parts is described as grouping, orgestalt.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
GESTALT
a general description for the concepts that
make unity and variety possible in design.
a German word that roughly translates as
"whole" or "form.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Gestalt Theory
involved with visual perception and thepsychology of art among other things
concerned with the relationship between
the parts and the whole of a composition
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Five (5) Gestalt Concepts
1.Closure
2.Continuance
3.Similarity
4.Proximity
5.Alignment
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Five (5) Gestalt Concepts
A. Closure
- the mind supplies the missing
pieces in a composition
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Five (5) Gestalt Concepts
B. Continuance
- the eyes continues in the direction it isgoing
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
All kinds of pointing devices are used indesign. Many of these are more subtle than
a pointing hand or arrow:
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Eye Direction:
If the subject of a composition islooking in a particular direction, you will look
to see what they are looking at. It is an old
trick to look up into the sky and see how
many other will look with you.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Paths:
Rivers, roads, railroads tracks and rowsof trees or trees or telephone poles are just
few of the devices that artists have used to
lead viewers to particular places in their
compositions.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Perspective:
Lines of perspective, like paths, can beused to direct attention to a focal point in a
composition
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
C. Similarity:-what an item looks like and how that effects
gestalt
D. Proximity:
-where items are in relationship to each other
and how that effects gestalt
E. Alignment:
-lining up objects to organize and form
groups
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
2. LINELine is one of the simplest concepts to describe. Basically,
it is including things with strong, defined lines in your photo.
Examples are like the edge of buildings, train tracks, road lines,and sidewalks. Line is usually used to either portray a sense of
movement (One of the Principles of Design), or to lead the
viewers eye to the subject of the photo, though it can also imply
shape. It is not limited to simply solid objects like buildings, or to
even straight lines. Light and shadow, with a clear edge betweenthem, can create line. Many photos have curved lines, such as
roads as they bend to the right or left, or footpath that winds
between the roots of large trees, as well.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
2. LINESometimes a designer uses a line to divide or
unite elements on a page.
Lines can denote direction
of movement (as in diagonal
lines and arrows) or provide
an anchor to hold elementson a page (such as lines at
the top, bottom, or sides of a
page).
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2. LINE
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2. LINE Upper Left: Uniform vertical black and white lines alternate at
even intervals. Static. Orderly. Conservative.
Upper Right: Uniform horizontal black lines are widely, but
evenly spaced. Static. Stable. Orderly. Middle Left: Uneven spacing of otherwise uniform lines
creates the impression of movement. Dynamic. Orderly
progression.
Middle Right: In this example the progression moves in fromeither side giving the illusion of roundness. Dynamic. Orderly
progression. Dimension.
Lower Left: Varying line widths and distances create arandom pattern. Dynamic. Chaotic. Disorderly.
Lower Right: While the uniform size and spacing of the linesin the upper examples are static, make the lines into curves
and you get movement although it is a controlled movement.
Dynamic. Orderly flow.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
3. SHAPEShape refers to including that appears
two dimensional, and have a specific form to
them. The most common Shape used is thecircle. We can see that in tapestries, or in arched doorways. The
wave is another strong shape, found in almost any coastal
photograph. Other shapes include the triangle, and square,
though those are less commonly used in photography. Shape can
also lend to other Elements and Principles, just as line does.Usually, Shape is used to create a sense of Space(Again, arched
doorways are a good example), though it works well with Form,
Value, and Line.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
4. SPACEMy personal favorite, Space refers to the area of unused
or unoccupied area in a photo. Basically, the space between
objects. In general, Space helps to lend a sense of 3-dimensionality to a photo. By itself, Space can create beautiful
photos, such as a photo of clouds, but its real strength lies with
using it in combination with Line, Form, or Value. Perhaps the
most stirring example of using Line or Value with Shape would be
a photo looking down a long road, with tall buildings on eitherside. This is not to say Space must be a large, open expanse. A
set of carefully arranged small objects, such as pebbles, can use
both Space and Form very effectively.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
5. FORMForm is very similar to Shape, but different enough to create
a different feeling in your photographs. This is also probably the least
used of the Elements of Design. Basically, Form is a 3-dimensionalobject. Spheres, cubes, and cones are good examples. Its difficult to
portray a 3-dimensional object with film, which is by nature 2-
dimensional. Still, Form used well creates a very interesting photo.
The idea behind Form is to show each indentation, each curve, each
bulge, and each edge-the objects Form. Space is the mostcommonly used Elements in conjunction with Form, allowing us as
viewers to recognize the different objects as being in different places,
instead of overlapped right on top of each other. Line and Value play
a large part in Form, as well.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
6. TEXTUREPerhaps the most self-evident Element,
Texture is simply the tactile quality of an object.
This ranges from glass-smooth to as rough assandpaper. Texture is an extremely good way to capture a viewers interest,
as it invokes more than simply their sense of sight. It appeals to the sense of
touch very easily, thus adding another dimension of interest to the photo.
Texture can also be easily used with Value and Repetition ( A Principle of
Design ), with very good effect. When taking photos where Texture is the
main concept, you should light the object from the side or from the back.These positions will emphasize the Texture. Axis lighting, or lighting the
object from the front, will produce the least Texture. Some ideas of things to
photograph with good Texture would be wrinkled cloth, a piece of wood, the
bark of a tree, or a pitted stone such as pumice.
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7. COLOR & VALUEThis element requires a somewhat
practiced eye to implement successfully.
Color is used to attract attention.It can be subtle or bold.
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ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
7. COLOR & VALUEBasically, value is the organization
and magnitude of light and dark in your
photo. The deep shadow, the brightwhites, and all the gray tones in between
are what make up value. It can be used to highlight certain
aspects, such as a bright subject against a dark background, or
to obscure unpleasant features in dark shadow. In most
photos, the value is roughly balanced. The number of strong
white areas and strong dark areas are about equal. We do this
by instinct. However, value can be tipped out of balance in
order to provide meaning and visual interest.