The Elements of Art and Principles of Design

Overview of basic art and design theory, with a specific focus on photography.

1. The Elements of Art
and Principles of Design

2. Elements
●The basic building blocks of art
●Line
●Shape
●Space
●Texture
●Value
●Color

3. LINE
A continuous point
(mark) used to delineate
an edge, or to lead the
eye through a work of
art.
Hyères, France (1932) Henri Cartier Bresson

4. SHAPE
An area with clear
boundaries.
Organic shapes occur
naturally.
Geometric shapes are
human-made.
Shell (1927) Edward Weston

5. SPACE
Used to create a sense of
depth, and is made up of
two kinds of space:
Positive space – the area of
the object(s) in the artwork.
Negative space – the area
around/between the
object(s) in the artwork.
Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park (1960) Ansel Adams

6. TEXTURE
How a surface looks and/or
feels.
In some forms of art, the
artist can create a surface
texture that can be felt by
hand.
In other forms of art, such
as photography or graphic
design, the texture is
implied but cannot be felt.
Georgia O’Keeffe Annie Leibovitz

7. VALUE
The range from light to
dark in a piece of
artwork.
Migrant Mother (1936) Dorothea Lange

10. COLOR
Image courtesy of: http://innman.blogspot.com/
Color is what we see
when light reflects off of
an object.

11. Complimentary
Colors
Directly across from
each other on the color
wheel.
Make each other appear
brighter and more
intense.
Afghan Girl (1984) Steve McCurry

12. Analogous
Colors
Next to each other on
the color wheel.
Create a feeling of
harmony.
Image Source: http://lusavindra.com/analogous-color-scheme/

13. Principles
●Ways to combine the elements of art to make a more
powerful composition
●Emphasis
●Balance
●Pattern/Repetition
●Contrast
●Movement/Rhythm
●Unity

14. EMPHASIS/
FOCAL POINT
The emphasis, or focal
point, is the area of the
artwork to which the
eye is first drawn.
Alameda Street (Calle Alameda), Santiago (1983) Alvaro Hoppe

15. BALANCE
Balance is a sense of
visual stability within a
piece of art.

Surf, China Cove, Point Lobos (1938) Edward Weston

16. CONTRAST
Most often, people
think of contrast as
pertaining to value (the
range of light and dark)
in artwork.

However, contrast can
also be created using
color, shape, or any
other element that
provides a sense of
visual discord.


Self-portrait (1976) Samuel Fosso

17. MOVEMENT
Movement can be a
literal representation, or
implied through
repetition of shape
(rhythm) or the
alternation of lights and
darks. 
Commuter on the New York New Haven line running to catch train pulling out of Grand Central Station (1961) Alfred Eisenstadt

18. PATTERN/
REPETITION
An element (color,
shape, form, etc.) that
occurs over and over in
a piece of art.
It is more visually
appealing to vary the
repetition to some
degree.
Hats in the Garment District, New York (1930) Margaret Bourke-White

19. UNITY
Unity occurs when all of
the elements work
together to make a
well-balanced whole. In
other words, the
individual elements
support the overall
theme/object of the
work.
Russian women’s brigade wielding crude rakes to gather up hay harvest on a collective farm outside the capitol. (1941) Margaret Bourke White