The "Visual Elements of Design," also known as the "Elements of Art," are essential building blocks to translate an idea or message into a visual concept, design, or composition. In visual arts, these elements can be found in drawing, painting, mixed media, photography, or any other two-dimensional (2D) visual communication methods, and the list depends on the source.
Similar to words in spoken language, they are used to express images or visual messages. Each element has its own meaning or can be associated with other elements to convey a specific emotion or emotional response. Use them deliberately to control how visual messages, images, or stories are composed.
Line
Lines are long, thin marks on the surface. Lines may also be created from the edges of shapes. They may be sharp, firm, soft, or lost in or out of focus. Lines may create boundaries or contours defining a shape or form. Lines may also create the illusion of motion or lead the viewer's eye through an image.
Lines may also be implied, and their quality can be soft or bold. Lines can also convey emotions. For example, sharp or jagged lines portray a different feeling than elegant or smooth lines. Straight lines may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Organic lines may be radial, spiral, or curved. Line lengths may be long, short, continuous, or broken, whereas the line width can be thick, thin, uneven, or tapered.
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| Line |
Straight lines may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Organic lines may be radial, spiral, or curved. Line lengths may be long, short, continuous, or broken, whereas the line width may be thick, thin, uneven, or tapered. Lines may also be implied, and their quality may be soft or bold.
Shape
A shape is an enclosed area or figure. A shape may also be defined as an area that stands out from the space around due to an implied boundary or edge. Shapes may be enclosed by a line in a drawing. Shapes have the characteristics of length and width. Silhouettes are shapes or forms filled with a single tone or a color. Any shape's outer edge or contour automatically creates a negative shape on the other side up to the frame or edge of the paper.
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The form differs from a shape in that it includes any visual information regarding its location, scale, or orientation. The form is the configuration of a shape that is well understood in how this object sits in space concerning the viewer. For example, a square is a shape, and a cube turned three-quarters becomes a form. There are endless varieties and combinations of shapes or forms, including natural, geometric, abstract, or free form. Whether complex or straightforward, the meaning of shapes or forms is derived from the viewer's culture.
Value (Tint, Tone or Shade)
Value is one of the many characteristics of color. It describes the lightness or darkness of a shape or object. Variations in light and dark values create patterns. Our vision uses these patterns to determine one shape or object from another, even in low lighting conditions when we cannot determine the hue or color. Value also conveys mood or lighting conditions. For example, values with little contrast evoke a different feeling than values with extreme contrast.
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A tone is a single color swatch or shade of gray, which may be compared to another tone or a single step on a value scale. Tones can be light, dark, or in between. A tint is the lighter version of a tone, and a shade is the darker version of the tone. A gradation is a gradual change from one tone to another, depicting an object's volume, three-dimensional characteristics, or shape. Gradual changes in value create the illusion of a 3D object on a 2D surface.
Texture
The texture is visual and tactile, including the surface or substance's feel, appearance, or consistency. Without a sense of structure, the texture is just a pattern that may create a variety of visual interests. Texture also conveys moods. For example, a rough texture evokes a different feeling than a soft or smooth.
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Natural texture is the appearance of a material, such as wood grain, metal, glass, or leather. The tactile or physical texture is the variations of a surface or material, which may also be felt by the touch, such as animal fur or reptile skin. When light hits the variations in the surface, it casts small shadows. Visual or inferred texture is a realistic illusion of a physical or natural texture on a 2D surface, usually by alternating values.
Color
Color is a characteristic of human visual perception, producing different sensations in the eyes due to how an object reflects or emits light. It is described as a hue and contains a spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple. Color has other characteristics, such as value, intensity, and temperature.
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Colors are capable of affecting our mood. They can also create a feeling of warmth or coolness. Hue combinations may cause harmony or disharmony. Scientists have found that physiological changes occur in human beings when they are exposed to specific colors. The meaning of hue or color is always derived from the viewer's culture.
Space
Space is a continuous area or expanse that may be free, available, or unoccupied. It refers to the distance between shapes or objects. 3D space is recognized as having height, width, and depth and is referred to as space. Nothing exists without it and is the distance or area around each object, between, above, below, or in real places.
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2D space is the illusion of depth. Visual Arts is primarily limited to height and width. It can be created by linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, magnified perspective, placement, elevation, or overlap.
The "Elements of Design" differ from the "Principles of Art," including various ideas or ways to organize the elements. Composition is the art of organizing these elements into a harmonious or pleasing whole.
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