Glossary 149-150 Flashcards
Active composition
A composition that is dynamic and contains many diagonals, subject matter in mid motion or in energetic poses
Alignment
To place things in an ordered arrangement; to line things up
Anarchy
A situation where there are no rules, order or authority; everyone does whatever they want; often resulting in violence, conflict and destruction
Anomaly
Something that is out of the ordinary; not expected; does not fit into the pattern
Applied arts
The traditional name for design; practical design production
Architectonic forms
Forms which are similar to the shame and structure of the building
Assembly line
A progressive production line of workers each with their own function, working systematically to transform raw materials into a finished product
Bad taste
Having no idea what is visually appropriate and acceptable; having the reputation of making incorrect aesthetic decisions
Balustrade
A barrier that provides support for people when they are walking up or down a flight of stairs; may be decorative or purely functional
Biomorphic
Abstracted organic shapes and forms that look like animals and living organisms
Capitalism
An ideology as well as an economic system based on some people owning the means to production while employing others, less fortunate, as workers. The workers produce goods that are sold for a higher price than it costs to make them. The profit is then paid to the owners; the workers receive a set wage
Centrifugal Balance
When a composition has elements moving away from a central point, yet they are evenly distributed
Centripetal Balance
When a composition is laid out in such a way so that the elements are moving towards a central point, yet they are all evenly distributed
Chalk pastel
A soft drawing medium that is cheap and relatively easy to draw with, it smudges easily and therefore needs to be sprayed with fixative
Charcoal
A soft, black drawing medium which smudges easily
Communism
An ideology as well as an economic system where the government controls all economic activities within the country and where all people generally receive the same amount of resources and money
Connotations
Other things that are implied and communicated by a particular word, image or phrase.
Consumables
Products that people use frequently in their lives like food, toiletries, and cleaning products
Conté
A hardened chalk substance which is used as a drawing medium
Content
The things that are included in a visual communication design or in a section of body text
Contiguity
When something is next to or touching something else; one of the Gestalt principles of design
Copywriter
A person who is responsible for writing the text that will go in a visual communication design
Cosmopolitanism
The process whereby people from many different countries =, places, backgrounds and cultures live together in one area and influence each other, creating a hybrid society
Curtain walls
When a steel skeleton structure is used within a building the walls no longer need to be weight bearing. In this case, the walls have the sole purpose of keeping the natural elements out of the interior. At times, these walls are entirely made of glass
Cutting-edge
Being on the forefront of new ideas, technology, discoveries and inventions; paving the way for others to follow
Dematerialist approach
Not wanting to depict objects or realism within design
Embossing
To insert a raised part of a design onto a piece of paper by cutting out the shape out of thicker card, placing it under the dampened paper and putting it through a press
Enhance
To make something look better, to bring out its best qualities
Equilibrium
When opposite things are in balance with each other; equal; a calm state
Etching
A printing process where an image is scratched into a metal plate, inked up and then the image is printed onto paper in reverse
Fascism
An extreme right-wing political system where there is a strong central government which does not allow any opposition
Flush
To be right up against something and in line with the rest
Flux
In a state of movement and change
Formal grid
When there is evidence of a strong compositional grid of horizontals and verticals governing the placement of compositional elements
Gestalt theory
A psychological belief that our behaviour is affected by our prior experience and that the human mind continually tries to make meaning and find relationships when presented with new information.
Graphite pencils
Common drawing media, each pencil has a different grade which determines its tone
Gutenberg printing system
A printing system which revolutionised the printing industry Europe
Inactive composition
A composition that does not suggest movement or dynamism; it is static and predictable
Industrialisation
The process whereby farmland is bought so that factories can be built in order to mass-produce manufactured goods
Informal grid
A composition which is loosely governed by a system of horizontals and verticals, yet these lines are hidden and unobvious
Intuition
Knowing something by listening to your feelings and conscience rather than the facts
Irony
A strange, unpredictable turn of events, something you did not expect
Kinetic
Something that contains moving parts
Legibility
Describes the ease at which the can be read
Metal alloy
A metal that has been formed by mixing two different metals together
Multidisciplinary
Include a wide variety of different discipline within an approach or project; a holistic approach, so that things are looked at from all perspectives
Nihilsm
A belief that nothing has any value, especially all existing religious and moral value systems as they believe they are not capable of bringing anything worthwhile to society
Non-colours
Neutrals - black, grey and white
Used to make colours lighter or darker, as well as create tonal variations
Order
When everything has been organized and in its correct place; to follow the rules so that everything goes to plan; predictable and acceptable
Panoramic
A wide view of an area of land
Portrait format
A vertical, rectangular shaped format
Prefabrication
When something is pre-made off site in a factory to standard specifications and then transported to where it is needed and inserted, for example doors, lintels and window sills
Prototype
The first design of something; used as a reference to make the rest of the products
Proximity
When something is relatively close to something else
Psychic automatism
When an artist or designer creates art being led by their subconscious mind; this maybe be during a trance, hallucination or by a way of recording what they had dreamt about; they do not let themselves be controlled.by reason, logic or intelligence
Psychoanalysis
A psychological theory that proposes that people’s present behaviour is caused by their past experiences
Quasi-sculptural
An object or shape that appears to look like a sculpture, yet it is not a sculpture
Readymades
Using objects or products that have already been manufactured and changing their function
Ribbon/strip windows
Windows that run the entire way around the building with no interruptions; they are quite narrow in height
Simultaneity
When difference things occur at the same time
Subconscious
A part of our brain that we generally do not have access to, which stores our thoughts and memories
Super/photo realism
When an image has a very high degree of detail, generally more detail than would be captured in a photograph
Tesselation
A visual illusion is created when the positive space in a picture slowly becomes the negative space and vice versa
The American Dream
The utopian belief that all people that live in America can be free and liberated from discrimination and hardship, having equal access to owning land and resources, filled with pride for their country and looking towards a bright future ahead if them
Tiling
When images, which are the same size and square shaped, are placed side by side in rows; often the same image is repeating over and over again; may form a pattern
Tone
This describes the variation between light and dark in an image; or the quality of a persons voice or writing - what emotion is being communicated
Typeforms
A standardised design which can be easily replicated
Universal Aesthetic Language
The belief that people all over the world can communicate with and understand the basic visual language of lines, tones, colours and forms, no matter what language they speak
Visual closure
Our brains are programmed to fill in missing information or parts of an image
Visual echo
A visual element that is repeated as a reflection within a composition to create rhythm and unity
Welding
To permanently join pieces of metal together to construct a form or structure by heating their ends and pressing them together
