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D e s i g n 1

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OF DESIGNelements

WHAT IS VALUE?Value is the relative lightness or dark-ness of an object. It is the difference between shadow and highlight, and all the midtones in between. Value is not the same as color, though value can be used to “color” an image. Black and white photography is a perfect example. It’s not any less appealing because there is no color!

WHAT IS TEXTURE?Texture is the surface quality of a form or shape. It is a good way to add details to your design. Notice I didn’t say an easy way! Texture can be a complicated element to use effective-ly, and it exists in many forms, from stripes to rust to typography.

WHAT IS SPACE?In its most general definition, space is mass; it is height and width. Space also indicates depth and the location of objects; it creates the illusion of dimension.

WHAT IS SIZE?Other ways to say size are scale and proportion. It is the relative largeness or smallness of an object in the con-text of composition.

WHAT IS A LINE?A line connects two points. Lines come in every shape and size. They are one way to define space and shape, and they can give the illusion of dimension.

WHAT IS A SHAPE?Shapes convey meaning, aid in creat-ing direction and can be used quite effectively for drawing attention to a particular section of the design. There are three basic categories to put shapes into: geometric, natural and abstract.Geometric shapes are what you proba-bly thought of when you read “Shape:” circles, rectangles, octagons, etc. Geometric shapes are also considered pure form, the absolute basic underly-ing visual representation of an object.Natural shapes are organic shapes, which are often irregular, as opposed to shapes that are more mechanical in nature, like geometric shapes. These are things that can be found in nature, like a blade of grass, or they can be man-made, like a dab of paint.

The Design LanguageThe elements of design give us an objective way to analyze and critique design. They make up a language for us to communicate what is working and what is not in a piece.How confusing would it be to try to talk about something with-out this language, and especially without being able to point to it, and have the other person understand? “Oh, this little thing here needs to be, um, fatter, but thinner sometimes, too, and make it stand out more… somehow.” Much simpler and clearer to say, “This line should to vary in weight and it needs more space around it.”This language also helps us describe the affect of different aspects of the design on our audience. Last time, one of the things we looked at was how line can create a mood or a feel-ing. Just from a simple line, one of the elements of design, you can cause a viewer to feel angst and tension.

Using the ElementsDesign by definition is planned. Design is created to be useful. How do we know what will be useful? By thinking about the ele-ments of design and how each element contributes to the deliv-ery of the message.The elements give us as designers guidelines when creating our work. They can remind us what’s missing or how we can use some-thing more effectively and they give us a way to talk about our work with others.

ColorColor has the great ability to in-fluence our impressions of a design and this is probably the way color is used most often. If it is mostly composed of cool colors—green, blue and purple—we can feel calm or de-pressed, depending on how they are used. Warm colors—red, orange and yellow—make us feel strong, passion-ate emotions like anger or desire.