Visual Elements

Visual Elements

1. Visual Elements The basic building blocks of design.

2. Line A continuous point (mark) used to delineate an edge, or to lead the eye through a design. A line is just a continuation of a point (dot), which is the smallest unit of design. 2001:A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

3. Types of Lines S tatic Horizontal = sense of peac e and calm. Vertical = power, strength, grandeur, and awe. Dynamic Diagonal = speed, movement, and depth Curved = Create a sense of peace and tranquility. Bedroom at Arles (1992) Roy Lichtenstein

4. Leading Lines Lines that guide a viewer’s eyes around, or through, a design. Scanno (1953) Henri Cartier-Bresson

5. Shape/Form An area with clear boundaries. Shape is 2D, Form is 3D Organic shapes occur naturally. Geometric shapes are mathematically calculated. (squares, circles, etc.) Shell (1927) Edward Weston

6. Space Used to create a sense of depth, and is made up of two kinds of space: Positive space – the object(s) in the artwork. Negative space – the area around/between the object(s) in the artwork. ( also known as whitespace . Includes line breaks, margins, tabs & spaces.) (Costello, ch. 4)

7. Digital Workspaces Measured in pixels—tiny rectangular or square blocks of color. Width is measured along x-axis (horizontally), and height is measured along y-axis (vertically). Coordinates are an x:y position. The upper left-hand corner is (0:0). (Costello, ch. 4)

8. Texture How a surface looks and/or feels. In some forms of art & design, 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

9. Value The range from light to dark in a design. Migrant Mother (1936) Dorothea Lange

10. Color Color is what we see when light reflects off of an object. The three dimensions of color are Hue (actual color such as “blue” or “orange”), Saturation (intensity), and Value (brightness).

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. STEM Conference Program Art Director: Seamus Duerr Designer: Kristina Fick

13. Analogous Colors Next to each other on the color wheel. Create a feeling of harmony. Image Source: https://photographyicon.com/analogous

14. Think You Can’t Write? Think Again! Art Director: Patricia Meyer Designer: Patricia Meyer

15. Warm Colors Indicate safety Draw the viewer into the frame Can build excitement Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2012)

16. Cool Colors Indicate uncertainty Push the viewer from the frame Can dampen the mood The Revenant ( Alejandro González Iñárritu , 2016)