Art Design Elements and Composition

Form and Composition

• Elements of design are the physical parts of artwork, or the form
• Principles of design are the ways those parts are arranged or used, or the composition

Basic Elements of Design

• Line: The first-order element of design. A line is an infinite series of points arranged in a direction. Directions can be straight or curved. All objects are linear or predominantly formed using lines.
• Shape: Has two dimensions (length and width). Shapes can be regular or irregular, simple or complex, hard-edged or soft-edged. Hard-edged shapes have clearly defined boundaries, while soft-edged shapes slowly fade into their backgrounds. Two broad categories are geometric and organic.
• Mass/Volume: Volume has three dimensions (length, width, and height). Volumes may have interior or exterior contours, and can be closed or open in form. Mass is the quantity of matter, often meaning its weight. A closed form is a volume that is not pierced or perforated.
• Texture: Describes the surface quality of an artwork. It's an important design element engaging both the sense of touch and vision. Objects can have rough or smooth, wet or dry, sticky or slick, hard or soft, brittle or flexible textures. Two approaches to texture exist: actual (primarily sculptural) and implied (primarily used in two-dimensional works of art).
• Color: The most prominent design element. Color can be broken down into three parts: hue, saturation, and brightness. Hue is the wavelength of a given color (e.g., red, yellow, blue, green). Saturation is the color's purity ranging from a neutral gray to a pure color, while brightness is the lightness or darkness from fully illuminated (pure hues) to fully darkened (black).

Principles of Design

• Unity/Variety: Found in similarity (unity) and difference (variety). A design showing unity has similar or identical elements. A design displaying variety varies elements in size, color, shape, or other attributes.

• Scale/Proportion: The issue of size of elements both individually and in relation to other elements. An example of scale is the figures in Michelangelo's Pieta, where scale is used subtly. Another use is forced perspective which makes small objects appear large or large objects appear small by juxtaposition. Forced perspective is most convincing when photographic in nature.

• Balance: The issue of visual "weight." Design elements can attract attention in ways like brightly colored, large scale, texture. Compositional balance is achieved when competing visual weights are roughly equivalent. Two kinds of balance: symmetrical (elements are similarly arranged around an axis or central line) and asymmetrical (visual weights don't correspond to each other in shape, size, or placement).

• Emphasis/Movement: The intentional use of directional forces to move the viewer's attention through a work of art. Examples include color shifts within a shape, lines that direct the eye, or arrows used to direct attention. Other subtle means exist.

• Rhythm/Repetition: The repetition of visual elements to establish a pattern. The pattern can be used to highlight other elements or the pattern can intentionally be interrupted to highlight the change.