Over the past few weeks we’ve been taking an intensive look at the elements of design—the basic building blocks of graphic design and composition—through real world examples. It’s great to know the theory, but applying it is where all the knowledge comes together to form a successful design.
I presented them in the order I originally did on Creative Curio in the first few posts here. When I initially chose the order, I did it from what I thought was the least complex to the most complex.
We started off with line. You can’t get much simpler than a line (except for maybe a point), but it can add volumes to your work. Lines can have organic or mechanical qualities; they can be scattered or orderly and all of this adds to the delivery of the message.
Graphic design element number two was shape. Shapes are geometric, natural or abstract. The basic shapes—circle, rectangle and triangle—all have meanings and contribute to the feeling the viewer gets from the design.
The design element of space can be a simple concept to understand, but not very easy to master. It takes an almost intuition and a comfort with leaving enough “empty” space for the design to breathe—or knowing the effect of having too little space and crafting the design to have that outcome.
Size and scale are lumped into the same category and it is difficult to talk about one without the other, but they are not the same thing. Remember that size is the physical dimensions of an object in the layout, where scale is the size of the object as it relates to its usual physical size (think of a person on a postcard).
Texture is a fun element to experiment with and use to bring realism to your designs. It can be effectively used to add visual interest and it really helps make a design unique. And textures are not just applied in the computer; you can take into consideration the materials used in the final printed pieces, too.
Value, in my opinion, is the least considered element of design. I’m not sure if that’s because its use is more intuitive or because it is often overshadowed by color. Value is important because it contributes to the unity and mood of the design.
Finally, there is color, the most complex of all the elements because of the vast and varied things that different colors can mean. There is also a theory behind certain color combinations that needs to be studied as well.
So know that you are more familiar with the seven elements of design, I’m eager to hear from you
- What do you think is the most forgotten element?
- Which do you think is the hardest to deal with?
- Which do you find the easiest?
- Do you have a favorite element?
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Very interesting article! I love the depth that you put into your articles. Please keep them coming.
Blue Buffalo,
Great to hear you’ve enjoyed this series. Is there anything you’d like to see more depth or examples on?
I find colour quite difficult, I lean towards blue a lot and find it hard to decide on using something different.
I don’t think I’m ever as creative as I’d like to be with texture. Probably a lot to do with not doing much print stuff at all, so I don’t experiment with texture in print, or transfer any accumulated print knowledge to web.
p.s. Google code seems to be loading okay now – did you change the urchin?
kristarella,
Yeah, color can be hard. Until it comes totally natural to me, I always have a color wheel handy! Texture is my new favorite element (and not because of the recent web design trend). I think because it’s always been my weakest element, I started focusing on it and now I love it! That’s not to say I’ve mastered it… not remotely! But I’m enjoying it a lot, especially in other people’s designs.
Nope, didn’t change anything with the Google urchin. Guess it’s just one of those weird code things.
Very interesting article! many useful infromations
great work! thx
Great Lauren. This is the third term that I have been teaching the DES100 class at Mt. Sierra. In that class the first lesson is the Elements of Design and the first element I teach is Value. I choose to teach that one first because it was the one I understood the least. What I have learned is that it is the most important Element of Design. Peruse through some black & white photography by Ansel Adams or Julius Shulman. Their photography is great and its all Value baby.
I recommend the film on Julius, Visual Acoustics.
Craig,
Thanks! I think value is too often confused with contrast, too. Contrast is a principle of design, because it can be created with any of the elements (texture: shiny vs. matte, color: blue vs. yellow, line: thick vs. thin, etc). I did a full article on value, if you want to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation of the film; I’ll have to take a look!
Graphic designing has spread and diversified into so many parts right now, 10 years back it wasn’t really that recognized. You get degrees that you can complete in relation to designing now.very impressive!
In Raleigh, Graphic Design is going strong. You’d be surprised how many graphic design students actually arrive on the scene with a good knowledge of the elements of design… High schools must really be picking up lately.
Great post! I like the “line” principle. Proper use of lines direct the eye and add clarity to the overall design.
“It’s great to know the theory, but applying it is where all the knowledge comes together to form a successful design”
I am agree with all the words you said .
well Awesome post.Thanks for this meaningful sharing.
Great site! Wonderful work! I really agree with you on this. “Applying it is where all the knowledge comes together to form a successful design.” Very true!
Every designer should know the elements of design. Lauren Krause has taken the elements of design and illustrated them with examples you will identify. It is convenient to see her break down these 7 elements that you work with every day. If you want to brush up on your design skills or need some fresh ideas for a project you are working on, find me.
I am new to design. I use Quark (PC) and was wondering if there are resources to find out how to setup documents?
Cleo,
Check out Planet Quark.
thanks for this tutorial.Now i can easily understand importance of graphics essentials and hope can teach my friends as well.
The combination of color in every design is very hard. You really need to be keen in order to make a great result out of it. Though there are still other factors that you need to consider of course.
Designing is really easy only if you let your creative mind work. In this way, continuous flowing of ideas will meet all the elements of graphic design.
it is amazing how creative graphic designers can be… just look at this template (at creativecurio) the border and background rules.
Great article for designers, really loved all of this. Designers now adays sometimes don’t work on creativity but rather conformity, it’s really sad..
Just any other art forms, you need to have a talent to create a great master piece. Creative minds of graphic designers show the difference about this kind of art. All you need to do is to know the key elements of a graphic design.
Graphic designer is one of the most exciting profession. Simply because you need to create a design that needs to be very appealing to the public. As a start, you need to learn the basics specifically the elements of graphic design.
I agree with William. Being a graphic designer, you need to have lots of idea and have that creativity attitude in order to excel in your field.
There’s so many different aspects though. There’s still too many old style graphic designers still doing print design for web.
You also have to know you are the best and everyone else is wrong if they disagree -OR- You have to go the complete other direction and feel no one could possibly like your “taste” and you do it for your own enjoyment. Only types of designers I have ever met that have “made it” – The middle and the wishy-washy never stand out. Might be my strange experience though. Take this grain of salt and protect it for me
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