Ch 1 Basic Elements of Design

Question 1

Elements

Answer 1

Basic building blocks from which designs are made

Question 2

Point

Answer 2

A basic mark, such as a dot, pixel, or a brushstroke. It’s used to create a dialogue with the surrounding space

Question 3

Focal point

Answer 3

The primary point of interest in a composition. It’s often used to emphasize an area of particular importance or to provide a strong sense of compositional direction.

Question 4

Array

Answer 4

A collection of points

Question 5

Line

Answer 5

A point in motion, a series of adjacent points, a connection between points, an implied connection between points

Question 6

Orientation

Answer 6

A horizontal, vertical, or diagonal position of a composition or design element

Question 7

Direction

Answer 7

Actual or implied movement of an element within a design

Question 8

Continuity

Answer 8

Degree of connection or flow along compositional parts

Question 9

Actual lines

Answer 9

Lines that are physically present in a design

Question 10

Contour line

Answer 10

A line that describes the edges of a form and suggests three-dimensional volume

Question 11

Gesture drawing

Answer 11

A vigorous drawing that captures the action, structure, and overall orientation of an object, rather than describing specific details

Question 12

Volume summary

Answer 12

A drawing that communicates visual information deductively, using basic volumes such as spheres, cubes, and cylinders to indicate the major components of a figure or object

Question 13

Calligraphic line

Answer 13

Derived from Greek words for beautiful and writing, a flowing expressive line that varies in thickness and velocity (weighted line)

Question 14

Organizational lines (structural lines)

Answer 14

Lines used to create the loose linear skeleton on which a composition can be built

Question 15

Implied line

Answer 15

A line that is suggested by the positions of shapes or objects within a design
A line that is suggested by movement or by a gesture rather than being physically drawn or constructed

Question 16

Closure

Answer 16

The minds inclination to connect fragmentary information to produce a completed form (Gesalt psychology)

Question 17

Hatching

Answer 17

A technique used in drawing and printmaking to create a range of gray tones using multiple parallel lines

Question 18

Cross-hatching

Answer 18

A technique used in drawing and printmaking to shade an object using two or more networks of parallel lines
Darker values are created as the number of networks increases

Question 19

Cross-contours

Answer 19

Multiple lines running over the surface of an object horizontally/vertically that describe its surface configuration topographically, as in mapping
Suggests three-dimensional form through tonal variation

Question 20

Shape

Answer 20

A flat, enclosed area created when a line connects to enclose an area, an area is surrounded by other shapes, or an area is filled with color or texture

Question 21

Volume

Answer 21

An empty three-dimensional form; in two-dimensional design, a three-dimensional form that has been represented using the illusion of space; in time design, the loudness of a sound

Question 22

Gradiation

Answer 22

Any gradual transition from one color to another or from one shape or volume to another
Can be used to suggest 3-D volume

Question 23

Shading

Answer 23

The process of making a hue darker

Question 24

Positive shape (figure)

Answer 24

The principal or foreground shape in a design and the dominant shape or figure in a figure-ground relationship

Question 25

Negative shape (ground)

Answer 25

A clearly defined area around a positive shape or form

A shape created through the absence of an object rather than through the presence of one

Question 26

Figure/ground reversal

Answer 26

An arrangement in which positive and negative shapes alternately command attention

Question 27

Rectilinear shapes

Answer 27

Shapes composed from straight lines and angular corners

Question 28

Curvilinear shape

Answer 28

A shape whose contour is dominated by curves and flowing lines

Question 29

Geometric shapes

Answer 29

Shapes derived from or suggestive of geometry

Characterized by crisp, precise edges and mathematically consistent curves

Question 30

Organic shapes (biomorphic shapes)

Answer 30

Shapes that visually suggest nature or natural forces

Question 31

Collage

Answer 31

An image constructed from visual or verbal fragments initially designed for another purpose

Question 32

Texture

Answer 32

The visual or tactile quantity of a form
Can be created visually using multiple marks , physically through surface variation, or through the inherent property of a specific material

Question 33

Physical texture

Answer 33

Actual variation in surface

Question 34

Visual texture

Answer 34

Texture created using multiple marks or through a descriptive simulation of physical texture

Question 35

Stippling

Answer 35

A technique for producing an image from multiple dots

Question 36

Engraving

Answer 36

A printmaking process in which lines are carved into a metal plate or wooden board, then filled with ink and printed

Question 37

Invented texture

Answer 37

A form of visual texture that has been created without reference to perceptual reality

Question 38

Trompe l’oeil

Answer 38

A flat illusion that’s so convincing that the viewer believes the image is real

Question 39

Value

Answer 39

The relative lightness or darkness of a surface

Question 40

Value scale

Answer 40

A range of grays that are presented in a consistent sequence, creating a gradual transition from white to black

Question 41

Value contrast

Answer 41

The degree to which values in a composition differ from one another

Question 42

Value distribution (value pattern)

Answer 42

The proportion and arrangement of lights and darks in a composition

Question 43

Volumetric

Answer 43

3-D in nature

Question 44

Attached shadows

Answer 44

Shadows that directly define a form

Question 45

Cast shadow

Answer 45

A dark shape that results from placement of an opaque object in the path of a light source

Question 46

Grisaille

Answer 46

A gray underpainting to create the illusion of space

Question 47

Atmospheric perspective

Answer 47

A visual phenomenon in which the atmospheric density progressively increases, hazing over the perceived world as one looks into its depth
Definition lessens, details fade, contrasts become muted

Question 48

Chiaroscuro

Answer 48

The gradual transition of values to create the illusion of light and shadow on a 3-D form