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The Elements of Design

Project Visual Building Blocks

While a great imagination or a strong idea can be the impetus behind a beautiful or visually striking design, having one does not guarantee the other. Rather, a successful design is the product of the purposeful use and placement of design elements to create a visual representation of the idea.

The "Elements of Design" refer to a set of guidelines for designers and artists that examine each basic unit of a visual image and explores how those units may be used to create visual interest in a composition.

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Line

The most basic design element, a line is simply a mark between two points. It can be straight, squiggly, curved, thick, thin, broken or unbroken. In fact, by slight adjustments to the direction, weight, and character of the line, it can communicate various ideas and evoke specific emotional responses.

Shape

Shapes are formed when lines enclose an area. Shapes are defined by their boundaries and can add emphasis to particular parts of the composition and evoke mental associations. For example, angular shapes might indicate masculinity while curvy shapes may instead indicate femininity. An organic shape might recall the outdoors or nature, while a geometric shape might indicate regimentation and structure.

Value

Value is the lightness or darkness of an area. The higher the value, the closer to white while the lower the value, the closer to black. Value creates depth and light, and can be manipulated to direct the eye around the composition and to areas of importance through contrast and emphasis. By nature, the eye will gravitate toward the areas of the composition with the highest value. 

Color

Color can be used to affect the mood of the design, define importance, and create visual interest. Color especially has personal and societal connotations that can be utilized and manipulated to bring about a specific psychological or emotional response for the viewer. It consists of:

  • a hue - the distinguishable color, like red, green, yellow, etc.
  • chroma - or the intensity of the color, distinguishes between strong and weak colors
  • value - the lightness or darkness of the hue

Texture

Texture is the surface quality or perceived surface quality of a shape - rough, smooth, soft, hard, glossy, etc. It can be physical or two-dimensional and implied. A designer or artist can manipulate texture to convey information to the viewer about the character of the shape or object.

Size

Size is simply how small or large something is, and is often used to define importance, attract attention, or highlight the relationship between one object to another.

Space

Space is the area around or in between elements in a composition, or negative space. It is used to visually separate objects within the composition, direct the eye through the design, or even to give emotional commentary (cluttered vs. organized, chaos vs. order, etc.).