Design Basics Glossary

Question 1

A visual representation that may have little resemblance to the real world.

Answer 1

Abstraction.

Abstraction can occur through a process of simplification or distortion in an attempt to communicate an essential aspect of a form or concept.

Question 2

Black, gray, or white with no distinctive hues.

Answer 2

Achromatic

Question 3

A color mixing system in which combinations of different wavelengths of light create visual sensations of color.

Answer 3

Additive system

Question 4

The perception of less-distinct contours and value contrasts as forms recede into the background.
Colors appear to be washed out in the distance or take on the color of the atmosphere.

Answer 4

Aerial perspective. aka, atmospheric perspective

Question 5

A branch of philosophy concerned with the beautiful in art and how the viewer experiences it

Answer 5

Aesthetics

Question 6

Occurs after staring at an area of intense color for a certain amount of time and then quickly glancing away toward a white surface, where the complementary color seems to appear.

Answer 6

Afterimage

Question 7

A composition that distributes emphasis uniformly throughout the two-dimensional surface by repetition of similar elements.

Answer 7

Allover pattern

Question 8

A rhythm that consists of successive patterns in which the same elements reappear in a regular order. The motifs alternate consistently with one another to produce a regular (and anticipated) sequence.

Answer 8

Alternating rhythm

Question 9

Obscurity of motif or meaning

Answer 9

Ambiguity

Question 10

A dynamic and dramatic illusionistic effect created when an object is pointed directly at the viewer.

Answer 10

Amplified perspective

Question 11

A color scheme that combines several hues located next to each other on the color wheel.

Answer 11

Analogous colors

Question 12

A measure of the attributes and relationships of an artwork or design.

Answer 12

Analysis

Question 13

Term used to describe an image that has been optically distorted

Answer 13

Anamorphic

Question 14

The implication of movement on a static two-dimensional surface caused by the viewer’s past experience with a similar situation

Answer 14

Anticipated movement

Question 15

A decorative style, popular in the 1920s, characterized by its geometric patterns and reflecting the rise of industry and mass production in the early twentieth century.

Answer 15

Art nouveau

Question 16

An assembly of found objects composed as a piece of sculpture.

Answer 16

Assemblage

Question 17

Balance achieved with dissimilar objects that have equal visual weight or equal eye attraction.

Answer 17

Asymmetrical balance

Question 18

The equilibrium of opposing or interacting forces in a pictorial composition.

Answer 18

Balance

Question 19

Balance with respect to a vertical axis

Answer 19

Bilateral symmetry

Question 20

Describes shapes derived from organic or natural forms.

Answer 20

Biomorphic

Question 21

A visual device in which most details and the edges of a form are lost in the rapidity of the implied movement.

Answer 21

Blurred outline

Question 22

Elegant, flowing lines suggestive of writing with an aesthetic value separate from its literal content.

Answer 22

Calligraphy

Question 23

A law or accepted code that prescribes a aset of standards

Answer 23

Canon

Question 24

An architectural column in the form of a human figure

Answer 24

Caryatid

Question 25

The use of light and dark values to imply depth and volume in a two-dimensional work of art

Answer 25

Chiaroscuro

Question 26

Relating to the hue or saturation of color

Answer 26

Chromatic

Question 27

Suggestive of Greek and Roman ideals of beauty and purity of form, style, or technique

Answer 27

Classical

Question 28

The placement of objects by which a composition keeps the viewer’s attention within the picture.

Answer 28

Closed form

Question 29

An artwork created by aseembling and pasting a variety of materials onto a two-dimensional surface

Answer 29

Collage

Question 30

A psychological compensation for changes in light when observing a color. A viewer interprets the color to be the same under various light conditions.

Answer 30

Color constancy