Ch 1 Basic Elements of Design Flashcards
Elements
Basic building blocks from which designs are made
Point
A basic mark, such as a dot, pixel, or a brushstroke. It’s used to create a dialogue with the surrounding space
Focal point
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.
Array
A collection of points
Line
A point in motion, a series of adjacent points, a connection between points, an implied connection between points
Orientation
A horizontal, vertical, or diagonal position of a composition or design element
Direction
Actual or implied movement of an element within a design
Continuity
Degree of connection or flow along compositional parts
Actual lines
Lines that are physically present in a design
Contour line
A line that describes the edges of a form and suggests three-dimensional volume
Gesture drawing
A vigorous drawing that captures the action, structure, and overall orientation of an object, rather than describing specific details
Volume summary
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
Calligraphic line
Derived from Greek words for beautiful and writing, a flowing expressive line that varies in thickness and velocity (weighted line)
Organizational lines (structural lines)
Lines used to create the loose linear skeleton on which a composition can be built
Implied line
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
Closure
The minds inclination to connect fragmentary information to produce a completed form (Gesalt psychology)
Hatching
A technique used in drawing and printmaking to create a range of gray tones using multiple parallel lines
Cross-hatching
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
Cross-contours
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
Shape
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
Volume
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
Gradiation
Any gradual transition from one color to another or from one shape or volume to another
Can be used to suggest 3-D volume
Shading
The process of making a hue darker
Positive shape (figure)
The principal or foreground shape in a design and the dominant shape or figure in a figure-ground relationship
Negative shape (ground)
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
Figure/ground reversal
An arrangement in which positive and negative shapes alternately command attention
Rectilinear shapes
Shapes composed from straight lines and angular corners
Curvilinear shape
A shape whose contour is dominated by curves and flowing lines
Geometric shapes
Shapes derived from or suggestive of geometry
Characterized by crisp, precise edges and mathematically consistent curves
Organic shapes (biomorphic shapes)
Shapes that visually suggest nature or natural forces
Collage
An image constructed from visual or verbal fragments initially designed for another purpose
Texture
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
Physical texture
Actual variation in surface
Visual texture
Texture created using multiple marks or through a descriptive simulation of physical texture
Stippling
A technique for producing an image from multiple dots
Engraving
A printmaking process in which lines are carved into a metal plate or wooden board, then filled with ink and printed
Invented texture
A form of visual texture that has been created without reference to perceptual reality
Trompe l’oeil
A flat illusion that’s so convincing that the viewer believes the image is real
Value
The relative lightness or darkness of a surface
Value scale
A range of grays that are presented in a consistent sequence, creating a gradual transition from white to black
Value contrast
The degree to which values in a composition differ from one another
Value distribution (value pattern)
The proportion and arrangement of lights and darks in a composition
Volumetric
3-D in nature
Attached shadows
Shadows that directly define a form
Cast shadow
A dark shape that results from placement of an opaque object in the path of a light source
Grisaille
A gray underpainting to create the illusion of space
Atmospheric perspective
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
Chiaroscuro
The gradual transition of values to create the illusion of light and shadow on a 3-D form
