Design Elements and Design Principles

DESIGN ELEMENTS

•   Point
-   A dot is a point that when larger becomes a circle shape
-   If the mark is used to highlight a particular piece of information or it is used in a decorative manner then we can assume it is a point
-   Commonly found on maps
-   Example:  include © 

•   Line
-   Used to enhance meaning, clarity and quality of visual communications
-   When analyzing the purpose and quality of a line, specific terms are used
      * Dimension lines: lines with arrow heads
      * Weight: the thickness of the line
      * Style: whether the line is curvy, straight, irregular, jagged, wavy or angular
-   Lines can also represent a mood or emotion in a visual communication. Eg. Wavy lines are relaxing than jagged lines

•   Shape
-   Geometric shapes
-   Organic shapes (natural) 
-   Must be two dimensional 

•   Form
-   Created by joining shapes to make a three-dimensional object 
-   Can be either organic or geometric 
-   Form can be filled but that fill must be a flat fill and not include tone if it is to be considered and analyzed as form 

•   Tone
-   High or low tonal key
     * High tonal key is where there is a strong separation between highlights and shadows 
     * Low tonal key: little separation between the two 
     * When photographing, a low tonal key is generally used to ensure the details are not lost 
-   Graded tone
     * The transition from one tonal value to the next (from light to dark) 

•   Texture
-   Where there is a sense of the representation’s textural qualities. 
-   Example. Wood, wool, brick, metal, plastic, glass 
-   Gets the audience to ‘feel’ rather than see 
-   Evoke different responses 

•   Colour
-   Colour can be described as Bold, warm, cool, monotone, complementary, triadic, analogous 
-   Red can be interpreted as hot, dangerous, exotic
-   Blue: calm, cool, airy 

•   Letterform
-   Many products use letterform to identity the maker of the brand
-   Letterform can be used as a purely decorative element 
-   Serif
     * Has the ‘feet’ at the end of the letters
     * More conservative, traditional 
-   San serif 
     * With the feet
     * More contemporary
     * More relaxed and is preferred for communicating with the young 

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

•   Figure-ground
-   The figure is what you are meant to notice/see
-   This could be an image, or word
-   The ground is where the figure is placed on 
-   It is known as the negative space (the ground) 
-   Strong figure demands attention – is dominant 

•   Balance
-   Symmetrical balance
     * There is equal weight of visual information on both sides of a dividing axis 
     * Can be symmetrical vertically, horizontally or diagonally 
-   Asymmetrically balanced
     * There is more weight on one side than the other 

•   Contrast
-   A way of creating tension within a visual communication
-   Examples: large and small, dark and light, solid and opaque, shiny and matte, soft and hard, narrow and wide, thick and thin 
-   Contrast helps leads the viewer to information in a planned manner 
-   It can also convey a message (for example, an old person and a newborn) 

•   Cropping
-   By showing part of a total image or word, you are drawn to focus on it encouraged to fill in the missing detail 
-   It leaves you wanting more

•   Hierarchy 
-   Can determine the order in which a viewer sees or reads visual information 
-   Can be formed using a range of design elements and other design principles 
-   Contrast, letterform, figure-ground, point and lines help develop a hierarchy of information 

•   Scale 
-   Refers to the size of an object 
-   The object can be scaled up or scaled down 
-   Can be referred to large vs. small compared to its natural size 

•   Proportion
-   Alters the appearance of an object 
-   It can be stretched or flattened or elongated or narrowed

•   Pattern 
-   Repeating of an element to reinforce a message
-   Ordered patterns create stability while a pattern that has less distinct repetition of parts can create a sense of visual excitement 
-   Related sequence, pattern repetition
-   Organic sequence, pattern alternation