SayPro IDENTIFY AND SELECT APPROPRIATE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES.

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Design ElementsThe elements are components or parts which can be isolated and defined in any visual design or work of art. They are the structure of the work, and can carry a wide variety of messages. The details may be differentiated by researchers, ‘point or mark’, ‘line’, ‘shape’, ‘forms’, ‘space’, ‘color’, and ‘texture’ in this article.A. Point or MarkA point or mark is the smallest and most basic element. Often it is the personal ‘handwriting’ of the artist that can be natural or learned. These can vary in size, value, regularity or irregularity, and can be used alone or as a unit in a group which forms a line or shape in the image. Marks can be used to form a value or pattern (placed close together forms a darker value, further apart forms a lighter value), or to delineate space (larger means closer, etc.). A good example of the use of marks is the ink drawings of Van Gogh. The Impressionist painters used what could be called patches; and the Pointillists, such as Seurat, used the dot. Even though there is only one point or mark on a white blank page, it can catch our sight. If there are two points, we will make a connection and see a line. If there are three points, it is unavoidable to interpret them as a triangle; the mind supplies the connections. These are called as grouping, or gestalt. Gestalt is the fundamental tool the designer or artist uses to build a coherent composition.This compulsion to connect parts is described as grouping, or gestalt.Gestalt is the fundamental tool the designer or artist uses to build a coherent composition. The example of a student self-portrait seen on the left demonstrates how images may be built from points, with the variations in density producing the illusion of form.B. Line A line is a form with width and length, but no depth. Artists use lines to create edges, the outlines of objects. A line is created by the movement of the artist’s pen. The direction of a line can convey mood. Horizontal lines are calm and quiet, vertical lines suggest more of a potential for movement, while diagonal lines strongly suggest movement and give more of a feeling of vitality to a picture.The Elements: LineA line is a mark made by a moving point and having psychological impact according to its direction, weight, and the variations in its direction and weight. It is an enormously useful and versatile graphic device that is made to function in both visual and verbal ways. It can act as as a symbolic language, or it can communicate emotion through its character and directionLine is not necessarily an artificial creation of the artist or designer; it exists in nature as a structural feature such as branches, or as surface design, such as striping on a tiger or a seashell.It can function independently to suggest forms that can be recognized, even when the lines are limited in extent. This can be seen in drawings such as the Saul Steinberg illustration shown here, or in Alexander Calder’s minimal wire sculptures, which convey a great deal of information about the figure with the most limited line.Lines can be combined with other lines to create textures and patterns. This is common in engravings and pen and ink drawings such as the one on the right (click and enlarge to see linear detail). The use of line in combination results in the development of form and value, which are other elements of design.However, line is not always explicit. It can exist by implication, as the edge of forms. As young children we usually begin drawing landscapes by making outlines for earth, sky, and other objects. Gradually we learn that objects do not have such outlines and we let color changes define the edges of shapes, creating implicit lines. Thus we can speak of a horizon "line," or the "lines" of a car or a fashion silhouette, even though we know there is no literal line present. For additional visual examples ofExpressive Qualities of LineCertain arrangements of line are commonly understood to carry certain kinds of information.For example, calligraphy is recognizable as a representation of words, even when we do not know the language. Calligraphic imagery is often used by modern artists simply because of the mysterious messages implied in the "code" of unknown language.Line in the form of maps is readily recognized as a symbolic representation of a place. The place may be a local neighborhood, or the entire world. It may be a carefully measured representation, or a stylized diagram, such as a subway map. In either case, we understand it to be a device by which we can understand the relationship between places; how to get from "here" to "there."Floor plans are a specialized kind of map, a commonly understood device which describes a building. This linear language can be understood even when the building is as unusual as this one, which was to be constructed of a sprayed foam material in a decidedly unconventional form.Graphs are another readily recognizable linear device. They are widely used to communicate quantitative information and relationships in a visual way. From the time we first meet them in basic algebra, to the last time we picked up a copy of USA Today, we encounter and interpret graphs.Line also communicates emotion and states of mind through its character and direction. The variations of meaning generally relate to our bodily experience of line and direction.Horizontal line suggests a feeling of rest or repose. Objects parallel to the earth are at rest in relation to gravity. Therefore compositions in which horizontal lines dominate tend to be quiet and restful in feeling. One of the hallmarks of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural style is its use of strong horizontal elements which stress the relationship of the structure to the land.Vertical lines communicate a feeling of loftiness and spirituality. Erect lines seem to extend upwards beyond human reach, toward the sky. They often dominate public architecture, from cathedrals to corporate headquarters. Extended perpendicular lines suggest an overpowering grandeur, beyond ordinary human measure.Diagonal lines suggest a feeling of movement or direction. Since objects in a diagonal position are unstable in relation to gravity, being neither vertical nor horizontal, they are either about to fall, or are already in motion, as is certainly the case for this group of dancers. In a two dimensional composition diagonal lines are also used to indicate depth, an illusion of perspective that pulls the viewer into the picture-creating an illusion of a space that one could move about within. Thus if a feeling of movement or speed is desired, or a feeling of activity, diagonal lines can be used.Horizontal and vertical lines in combination communicate stability and solidity. Rectilinear forms stay put in relation to gravity, and are not likely to tip over. This stability suggests permanence, reliability and safety. In the case of the man in this family group, the lines seem to imply stability to the point of stodginess.Deep, acute curves, on the other hand, suggest confusion, turbulence, even frenzy, as in the violence of waves in a storm, the chaos of a tangled thread, or the turmoil of lines suggested by the forms of a crowd. The complicated curves used to form the mother in the family group shown above suggest a fussy, frivolous personality.Curved lines do vary in meaning, however. Soft, shallow curves suggest comfort, safety, familiarity, relaxation. They recall the curves of the human body, and therefore have a pleasing, sensual quality.The quality of the line is in itself a fundamental visual language, to an extent that cannot be claimed for any other single element. Its use is so universal that we are all profoundly sensitive to it. Even without an artist’s training, we can extract considerable meaning from the kind of line used in a drawing. It is possible to recognize the soft, irregular lines of a quick sketch from life, as seen in this study of a lion.On the other hand, the crisp, carefully placed lines of the rhinocerous are typical of a more studied, scrupulously worked studio drawing. The lines suggest that this was not drawn from life, but from hearsay. This is also evident from the fact that Durer drew this rather inaccurate image in fifteenth century Europe when he could only have known of this African animal from travellers’ tales.The quality of line in itself contributes to the mood of the work, and for the master artist, the quality of line is a fundamental expression of his/her style. This drawing of a nude by Matisse demonstrates his ability to create his image through a minimal number of expertly placed lines-lines that by their placement and movement on the page identify this work with this artist as surely as a signatureC. Shape Shape is an area that is contained within implied line, or is seen and identified because of color or value changes. Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and can be geometric or free-form. Design in painting is basically the planned arrangement of shapes in a work of art. In a picture, the shapes that the artist has placed are considered the positive shapes. The spaces around the shapes are the negative spaces. It is just as important to consider the negative space in a picture as the positive shapes.D. FormsForm describes volume and mass, or the three dimensional aspects of objects that take up space. (Shape is two-dimensional) Forms can and should be viewed from any angles. When you hold a baseball, shoe, or small sculpture, you are aware of their curves, angles, indentations, extensions, and edges—their forms.E. SpaceActual space is three-dimensional volume that can be empty or filled with objects. It has width, height, and depth. Space that appears three-dimensional in a two-dimensional painting is an illusion that creates a feeling of actual depth. Various techniques can be used to show such visual depth or space.F. Colour Colour has three properties. The first is hue, which is the name of the colours. The primary hues are yellow, red, and blue. Secondary colours are made by mixing two primaries. Intermediate colours are mixtures of a primary and adjacent secondary colour. The second property of colour is value, which refers to the lightness or darkness of hue. The third property of colour is intensity, which refers to the purity of the hue (also called "Chroma").Value is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a color. It is an important tool for the designer/artist, in the way that it defines form and creates spatial illusions. Contrast of value separates objects in space, while gradation of value suggests mass and contour of a contiguous surface. In the drawing on the right, value contrast separates the artichoke from the background, and the separate leaves from one another, while gradation suggests the curves of leave surfaces and of the whole form.Hue also has value. When contrasting hues are made similar in value, the spatial effects are flattened out. The pair of images on the left demonstrate this. In the color image of the fashion model the coat draws our attention through contrast of hue although the skin tones blend with the background (remember the object of the image is to sell the coat, not the model). However, it also seems to be softly blending with a background that seems quite close, and is very similar to the coat in value. The face tends to blend with the background which is similar in both hue and value. In the black and white version, however, the coat virtually disappears, since only value, not hue, are available to distinguish it, and the values are quite similar. However, the strong value contrast of the eyes and hat draw our attention to the face, even though the contours of the face seem to melt into the background. Therefore, the black and white version emphasizes the model more than the garment.To summarize: If values are close, shapes will seem to flatten out, and seem closely connected in space; none will stand out from the others. If values contrast, shapes will appear to separate in space and some will stand out from the others. This works whether the colours are just black, white and grey, or whether hues are involved.Hue is the term for the pure spectrum colours commonly referred to by the "colour names" – red, orange, yellow, blue, green violet – which appear in the hue circle or rainbow. Theoretically all hues can be mixed from three basic hues, known as primaries. When pigment primaries are all mixed together, the theoretical result is black; Therefore pigment mixture is sometimes referred to as subtractive mixture.The primary colors consist of three hues from which we can theoretically mix all other hues. There are two commonly used definitions of primary colors:Painters Primaries – red, blue, yellow: This traditional definition of primaries does not in fact mix to clear greens or purples; it is based on 19th century theories.Printers Primaries – magenta, cyan (turquoise), yellow: This definition of primaries mixes to clear colours across the entire spectrum. It is used as the basis for color printing. The computer screen probably does not give you a true turquoise–the colour should be a blue-green– because of differences between colour mixture in pigment and colour mixture in light.In mixing colours hues can be de saturated (reduced in purity, weakened) in one of three ways: mix with white to lighten the value (tint), mix with black to darken the value (shade), or mix with grey or the complement to either lighten or darken the value ( tone).Compliments are colours that are opposite one another on the hue circle. When complements are mixed with one another in paint, the resulting muted tones de saturate or dull the hues. Such opposite pairs can also be compared in terms of their relative warmth and coolness. Warm-cool contrast of hue can cause images to appear to advance or recede. In this 15th century painting, for example, the warm reds of the man’s doublet and his son’s cap reinforce the cues of placement to make these figures seem very close. On the other hand, the cool tones of the sea and sky suggest great distance.Afterimage is another, more specific definition of complements consisting of a stimulus colour and its physical opposite generated in the eye by exposure to the stimulus colour. Afterimage colours tend to make each other appear more intense, and have vibrating boundaries.Colour IllusionsSome of the effects of colour occur only in the eye and brain of the viewer, and are not physical properties of light waves or pigment. These illusions, however, are very powerful, and have enormous impact on our responses to colour.Colour Proportion refers to the impact of the relative quantity of a given hue or value used in colour compositions. In order to achieve over-all unity, and/or create emphasis, one should make a clear decision as to which colours should be assigned the largest and least areas. The colour proportion choice will also affect the impact of the colour composition. This can be seen in the set of panels shown here. The very same colours are used in each panel. Yet depending on the choice of dominant colour, the feeling of the composition, and even the appearance of each color, is altered.Simultaneous Contrast is the phenomenon which occurs when a colour appears to change when seen against a different background. A set of principles were first laid out in the 19th century by Chevreul, a dye master for the Gobelin tapestry works, who became an important colour theoretician. His principles state that changes in the hue, value, saturation (purity of hue), and area of a background color will alter the appearance of the selected color. The print shown here is made up of wavy bands of colours. Some of the bands extend from the center panel to intrude into areas of contrasting hue in the side panels.Optical mixture is the phenomenon which occurs when small particles of different colors are mixed in the eye; this type of mixture differs from pigment mixture in that it is based on light primaries. However,optical mixture differs from light mixture in which the primaries will mix to white, and from pigment mixture, in which the primaries mix to black. In optical mixture there is an averaging of hue and value, resulting in grey. Optical mixture is experienced when observing many textiles, such as this example, a detail from a handwoven tapestry. It can also be seen in natural objects, color television, and printed color pictures.Psychological Implications of ColourMarket researchers have done extensive studies exploring the emotional responses of people to colour. Some of these responses seem to be powerful and fairly universal. However, much of this information is culturally biased. We know that cultural traditions endow colours with powerful meanings that can differ greatly from place to place. For example, in Europe and the United States, black is the colour of mourning. In many tropical countries and in East Asia white is the color of death. On the other hand, white is the color worn by American brides, while brides in much of Asia wear red. Based on research done in the United States and Europe,we know that the following associations are generally found to hold in Euro-American societies:Red is associated with blood, and with feelings that are energetic, exciting, passionate or erotic. Most colors carry both positive and negative implications. The downside of red evokes aggressive feelings, suggesting anger or violence. Orange is the color of flesh, or the friendly warmth of the hearth fire. The positive implications of this color suggest approachability, informality. The negative side might imply accessibility to the point of suggesting that anyone can approach– a lack of discrimination or quality.Yellow is the color of sunshine. This color is optimistic, upbeat, modern. The energy of yellow can become overwhelming. Therefore yellow is not a color that tends to dominate fashion for long periods of time.Green In its positive mode, green suggests nature (plant life, forests), life, stability, restfulness, naturalness. On the other hand, green in some tones or certain contexts (such as green skin) might instead suggest decay (fungus, mold), toxicity, artificiality.Blue suggests coolness, distance, spirituality, or perhaps reserved elegance. Some shade of blue is flattering to almost anyone. In its negative mode, we can think of the "blues"-the implication being one of sadness, passivity, alienation, or depression.Violet is the color of fantasy, playfulness, impulsiveness, and dream states. In its negative mode, it can suggest nightmares, or madness.Market research on color is also done to establish color trends. Color forecasting is accomplished by surveying consumer preferences and other indicators of changes in taste. Color forecasting firms then issue projections defining palettes of colors that can be expected to rise, fall, or maintain popularity in coming seasons. The design industries then develop their new lines with these projections in mind. Some major companies employ their own color forecasters to research and project color trends for their industry. On the whole, color trends change more rapidly for fashion than for interior design, probably because changes in home furnishings entail a more serious financial investment.G. Texture Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of artwork. Techniques used in painting serve to show texture, i.e. the dry brush technique produces a rough simulated quality and heavy application of pigment with brush or other implement produces a rough actual qualityTextureTexture is the quality of an object which we sense through touch. It exists as a literal surface we can feel, but also as a surface we can see, and imagine the sensation might have if we felt it. Texture can also be portrayed in an image, suggested to the eye which can refer to our memories of surfaces we have touched. So a texture can be imaginary.Textures are of many kinds:Bristly, rough, and hard