Basic Design : Elements & Principles

B A S I C D E S I G N – E L E M E N T S & D E S I G N P R I N C I P L
E S.
Prepared by : Ar.Sujit Vasant Jadhav
Architect & Artist.
“Design is an Expression of Feeling……..Any Creative Act
is Design”.

B A S I C D E S I G N – I N T R O D U C T I O N
The ABC..of any design means Aesthetics , Basic design &
Creativity.
Basic design – the basics of Design is rightly called the
“ Mother of all Designs”. Its journey begins with the Basic
Elements and culminates in a Spatial Perception.
In India, the eligibility criteria for the Architecture , being High
school graduation in Math, hence the Creativity and Art remain
in their infant state. This sometimes makes it difficult for the
students to understand Art, Architecture and Art in Architecture.
Basic design studio serves an important purpose of initiating
Creativity & there by appreciating Art in many forms.
“ Design is an expression of feeling..any Creative act is design.”

Creative Act / Creativity : Creativity is a process when an
original or new theory along with new hypothesis results in
permutation or combination together to offer new generative
alternatives.
Design Process : Design process is a thinking process and the
process adopted must generate Creative thinking. Creative
thinking involves Visualization ; which is the skill & ability to
convert Vision into Visuals.
Basic design promotes a holistic , creative and experimental
methodology.
Basic design serves the purpose of initiating creativity and there
by appreciation of visual language.
Basic design studios help to unlock students creativity and
enhance spatial perception.

B A S I C D E S I G N – E L E M E N T S
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
The elements of design are the Language of the visual arts.
They are the parts. Elements structure and carry the work.
They are basically ingredients of art / design.
POINT
LINE
SHAPE
VALUE
FORM
COLOR
SPACE
TEXTURE

POINT
A point or mark is the smallest and most basic element.
These can vary in size, value, regularity or irregularity, and can be used alone or as a
unit in a group which forms a line or shape in the image.
(1) The single point represents a visual stop. As you can see, a rectangle is used to
restrict the subject area. The point at centre immediately takes focus of the eye.
(2) Two points represent a direction. It makes the eye move away from the border and
move back and forth between those two points.
(3) Three points makes the eyes move in a closed path. They signify a shape.
(4) The unique arrangement of those dots creates a directional path for the eye to move
on.
(5) The eye jumps from one part to the other because of the random arrangement of
dots. However, the dense area is able to gain more attention than the rest.

LINE
A line is a form with width and length, but no depth.
The direction of a line can convey mood. Horizontal lines are calm and quiet, vertical
lines suggest more of a potential for movement, while diagonal lines strongly suggest
movement and give more of a feeling of vitality to a picture.
A line is a series of marks, or points. The closeness of these points causes them to “lose
their individual identity and form a new identity“.
The direction, weight, and character of line convey many different states and
emotions.

LINE
(6)The line near the centre of the bounding area immediately steals focus and makes
the eye look at a certain area only.
(7) The alignment of those two lines creates a flow for the eye, it moves from the top to
the bottom.
(8) The line is closer to one corner of the bounding area. Hence the eye has more focus
near that corner than the others.
(9) The two lines give hint of an inner bounding area.
(10) The eye moves from one line to the other in a specific pattern represented by the
height and horizontal alignment of the two lines.

SHAPE
Shape is an area that is contained within implied line.
Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and can be geometric or free-form.
- A shape is formed when a
encloses an area.
- Simple shapes are
remembered and understoo
more easily than complex
shapes.
- Shapes, geometric or
organic, add interest to
the design.
- Design in painting is
basically the planned
arrangement of shapes
in a work of art.

FORM
Form is any three dimensional object. They can be measured in terms of height, width,
breadth.
Form describes volume and mass, or the three dimensional aspects of objects that take
up space. (Shape is two-dimensional)
Forms can and should be viewed from any angles
When you hold a baseball, shoe, or
small sculpture, you are aware of their
curves, angles, indentations,
extensions, and edges---their forms.

SPACE
Actual space is three-dimensional volume that can be empty or filled with objects. It has
width, height, and depth.
Two-dimensional design is concerned with the flat space that the design takes place on
and the illusion of three-dimensional space.
Incorporating space
into a design helps
reduce noise, increase
readability, and/or
create illusion.
White space is an
important part of your
design.

COLOUR
Colour adds the magic element to a design. They represent a common language of
communication.
Each colour has a mood, an emotion and different levels of significance.
Colours can reflect warm or cool, hard or soft, light or dark, passive or active, all of which
when used individually or in combination of one another greatly affects the mood.

COLOUR
- Colour palette choices
and combinations are used
to differentiate items,
create depth, add
emphasis, and/or help
organize information.
- Colour theory examines
how various choices
psychologically impact
users.
- Every colour says
something different, and
combinations can alter that
impression further.

COLOUR
Vermeer, The Milkmaid, 1658 – 60
Pablo Picasso , Tragedy1903

TEXTURE
Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of design.
Textures can create a more three-dimensional appearance on this two-dimensional
surface.

TEXTURE

B A S I C D E S I G N – P R I N C I P L E S
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
The Principles are concepts used to organize or arrange the structural Elements of
design. The way in which these principles are applied affects the expressive content,
or the message of the work.
BALANCE
PROPORTION
RHYTHM
MOVEMENT
EMPHASIS / FOCAL POINT
UNITY
VARIETY
HARMONY
REPETITION
RADIATION
PARALLELISM
DISTORTION
FOREGROUND-BACKGROUND

BALANCE
Balance is a psychological sense of equilibrium.
As a design principle, balance places the parts of a visual in an aesthetically pleasing
arrangement.
In a composition, balance is formal when both sides are symmetrical in terms of
arrangement.
Symmetrical Balance
Leonardo da Vinci, Last supper.
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa.

BALANCE
Balance is informal when sides are not exactly symmetrical, but the resulting image is
still balanced.
Informal balance is more dynamic than formal balance and normally keeps the learner's
attention focused on the visual message.
Asymmetrical Balance
Vincent Van Gogh , The Starry Night , 1889 Kandinsky’s Composition 8

BALANCE
Symmetrical Balance
Art of Balance ,Jessi Palkovic, 2005

BALANCE

BALANCE
Vincent Van Gogh , The Starry Night , 1889
There are three main types of balance, horizontal balance, vertical balance, radial
balance.

PROPORTION
Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design. It is
the relationship between objects, or parts, of a whole.
It is necessary to discuss proportion in terms of the context or standard , used to
determine proportions.

PROPORTION

PROPORTION
Golden Proportion – Parthenon, Greece
Manipulations in Proportion

RHYTHM
Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement of the elements-colours, shapes, lines,
values, forms, spaces, and textures.
Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and active, and to avoid monotony.
Movement and rhythm work together to create the visual equivalent of a musical beat.
Robert Delaunay, Rhythm 1912 Piet Mondrian, The Gray Tree, date unknown

RHYTHM

MOVEMENT
The way the artist leads the eye in, around, and through a composition. The path the eye
follows. Motion or movement in a visual image occurs when objects seem to be moving
in a visual image.
Movement in a visual image comes from the kinds of shapes, forms, lines, and curves
that are used.
“Rotating Snakes” (Kitaoka, 2003) Edgar Degas, entitled, Ballet probe, 1873.

MOVEMENT
Movement is the art principle that uses some of the elements of art to produce the look
of action or to cause the viewer’s eye to sweep over the art work in a certain manner.
MOVEMENT
Look at the painting and
concentrate on how your eyes
bounce from one star to another.
This is an example of how an artist
can create movement in a work of
art.

MOVEMENT

Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance and focus in their work. Artists can
emphasize colour, value, shapes, or other art elements to achieve dominance. Various
kinds of contrast can be used to emphasize a centre of interest.
Girl with pearl earring, Vermeer The creation of Adam, Michelangelo

The Meditative Rose , Salvador Dali Proud Rose , Thomas Kinkade

UNITY
Unity means the harmony of the whole composition. The parts of a composition made to
work together as a total visual theme.
Unity is the relationship among the elements of a visual that helps all the elements
function together.
Unity gives a sense of oneness to a visual image. In other words, the words and the
images work together to create meaning.

VARIETY
Variety provides contrast to harmony and unity. Variety consists of the differences in
objects that add interest to a visual image.
Variety can be achieved by using opposites or strong contrasts. Changing the size, point
of view, and angle of a single object can add variety and interest to a visual image.
Breaking a repeating pattern can enliven a visual image.
Artwork by Rassouli.

UNITY-VARIETY
Artwork by Rassouli.
Kandinsky ,Several Circles 1926.
In this composition, unity is
provided by the repetition of
circles on a neutral background.
Variety is added by varying the
sizes and colours of the circles,
and by overlapping them.

UNITY-VARIETY
Thomas Pollock Anshutz The Ironworker's Noontime 1880
Unity is suggested by the repetition of the figures and their muscularity. They are also
enclosed within the architectural structures of the foundry. Variety is obvious in the
number of different poses struck by the ironworkers, while showing off their physiques.

HARMONY
Harmony in visual design means all parts of the visual image relate to and
complement each other. Harmony pulls the pieces of a visual image together. Harmony
can be achieved through repetition and rhythm.
Patterns or shapes can help achieve harmony.
By repeating patterns in an interesting arrangement, the overall visual image comes
together.

HARMONY
Intrinsic Harmony Radial Harmony

HARMONY

REPETITION
Repetition is the use of same thing/ pattern more than once and the same thing/pattern
arranged in different location.
It is the simplest and most fundamental of all design principles and is the building block
of other principles.
The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the artwork.

REPETITION
René Magritte - Golconde, 1953.
Jasper Johns - Three Flags, 1958.
M.C. Escher - Lizard, 1942

RADIATION
Radiation is a feeling of movement steadily bursting outwards in all directions from a
visible / suggested central point , emission of rays from a central source.
Spokes of wheel , petals of flower , spider web suggests radiation principle.

PARALLELISM
Parallelism is the use of lines lying on the same plane, equidistant at all the points and
which are never meeting. It is the simple yet interesting design principle.
Composition Red Blue Yellow - Piet Mondrian
Holder's Symbolist Painting

DISTORTION
Distortion is a change of a reality's depiction, altering it in a way that one is able to still
recognize the item itself, but notices it is changed in some manner.
Scream , Edvard Munch,1893
Distortion is the deliberate alteration or departure
from a normal depiction of shapes , forms, imagery
and proportion.

FOREGROUND-BACKGROUND
In a Composition is divided into three parts : Foreground , Middle ground & Background.
The Foreground appears closest to the viewer, whereas the Background appears
farthest to the viewer and Middle ground appears in between Foreground- Background.

Basic Design : Elements & Principles

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