Elements and Principles of Design

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Elements and Principles of Design

• Learning to look at art

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Elements of Design

• Line
• Shape/Form
• Color
• Texture
• Value (contrast)
• Space (Positive/Negative)

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Line

• Continuous mark from a point in space
• Creates contours, boundaries, forms and shapes

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Shape Form

• The shape of the object of art usually formed by
  a line

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ColorBlack and white (shades of Gray)Primary
(red yellow blue)Secondary (orange green violet)
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Value

• Contrast Amount of light reflected from
  surface. In photography, black white and
  shades of gray

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Texture

• The way the surface of an object appears (rough,
  smooth, pointy)
• Can provide dimension as opposed to looking flat

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Space

• Negative space is an empty space that holds a
  sense of form and volume to the image, although
  the space may appear empty
• Positive space is the space that the subject holds

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Principles of Design

• Repetition
• Variety
• Rhythm
• Balance
• Unity
• Emphasis
• Scale

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Repetition

• Repeating a single design in an image
• Repetition can be used to help build a pattern

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Variety

• Change rather than sameness
• Takes on subtle variations of the same theme

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Rhythm

• Same element (line, shape) can be visually
  repeated in the space so that the eye picks out
  recurring patterns

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Balance

• Distribution of visual weights so that they
  offset one another
• Symmetrical like a mirror image
• Asymmetrical weights counterbalance each other
• Radial Begin from the center and move outward
  (like the rings in a tree trunk)

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Unity

• Strong attachments in a work
• May physically touch or be held together by
  energy of composition
• Visually ties the work together (can lead the
  viewers eyes from one area to another)

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Emphasis

• Dominance of an image in one area of the design
• Part of work may be isolated for special
  attention

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Scale

• Shows differences in size

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Finally. Lets Define COMPOSITION

• Composition is the combination of elements and
  principles of art that makes a work into a final
  product.

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Edward Weston, Shells
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Margaret Bourke-White, Fort Peck Dam
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Lee Friedlander, Sweet Emma Barrett
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Lisette Model, Running Legs
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Cindy Sherman, Film Still 13
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Jerry Uelsmann, Untitled