Elements of Design

Elements of Design

Colour• Colour is the part of light that is reflected by the

object we see. It is a visual sensation produced by light.

• Primary colours: red, yellow, blue• Colours can be warm or cold

we can think about cool colours as colours we see in winter – icy colours such as blue, purple and green.

Whilst the warm colours are those we see in a fire such as red, yellow, orange.

Rosina Wachtmeister (born 1939 Vienna, Austrian Artist)

The Flute player

Shape / Form• A shape is a flat, clearly defined area. Shapes

can be areas of colour, tone, and/or texture defined by lines or edges, the illusion of three-dimensional form created through using other elements such as tone, line or colour.

• A form is a three dimensional shape, it is solid and can be viewed from more than one angle, it has volume.

Claes Oldenberg (born1929,Swedish

American Artist)‘Giant Hamburger

1962’

Giorgio Morandi (Italian Artist, 1890-1964)‘Natura Morta 1955’

Point• The point serves as the focus of a visual,

highlighting or drawing attention to important information .

Anselm Kiefer (German Artist, born 1945) ‘To the supreme being 1983’

Letterform / Type• The use of text / written communication.

John Baldessari (American Artist, born 1931)

1971

Texture• Is a surface that can be felt or seen:

Example: Texture can be rough, smooth, soft , prickly etc…

Kurt Schwitter (German Artist 1887-1948)

Merz 1920 (the star picture) Montage, collage,oil and cardboard

Line• A line is a continues mark /stroke on a surface

it can create the illusion of movement, flow or direction. A line can be thin, thick, jagged, horizontal etc…

Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch Artist,1853-

1890)‘Starry night’

Roy Lichtenstein (American Artist,1923-1997)‘In the Car’