Elements and Principles of Design

Mrs. TegenMultimedia

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.

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-CURVELeading 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 TEXTURESTexture 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.