UNIT II:Fundamentals of Design

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“Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas
to become practical and attractive propositions for users or
customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a
specific end.”
Sir George Cox

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 Elements of Design

▹ POINT
▹ LINE
▹ PLANE
▹ VOLUME
▹ COMBINATIONS OF ELEMENTS

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 ▹ A point marks a
position in space.
▹ Small objects can be
seen as points
▹ Point features can be
associated with
Point assertions of power or
ownership and can be
symbolic in all kinds of
ways.

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 More about points
▹ A point, strictly speaking, has no dimension
but marks a position in space. Initially,
therefore, it can be indicated by some
secondary means such as crossed or focusing
lines or a point of light.
▹ In reality, a point needs some dimension to
attract the attention and in the landscape
small or distant objects may be regarded as
points.
▹ A lone tree, a small distant building, a
church on the skyline or a vertical structure
such as a mobile phone mast are common
examples.
.
▹ Many features in the landscape
can be regarded as points:
▹ (a) a church or similar object on
the horizon; (b) a point of light
such as a star in the sky;
▹ (c) the point where parallel
lines appear to converge;
▹ (d) lines and a feature on the
horizon create a focal point.

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 LINE

▹ Extending a point in one direction creates a line.

▹ Lines can be implied by the location of points.
▹ Lines can be imaginary yet still exert influence.
▹ Edges of planes can be seen as lines.
▹ Lines can have their own properties.

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 LINE
▹A line is formed by extending
a point in one dimension.
▹A simple line thus formed.
▹The boundary between two
shapes or planes is a line.
▹ The edges of planes laid end
to end can create a continuous
line as the eye runs along the
contiguous edge....

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Lines can have different Characteristics
(a) a smooth flowing line;
(b) a jagged, stiff line
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Lines can have different qualities:
(a) a broken line;
(b) a line of variable width
(c) a fuzzy or indistinct line
(d) a clear, simple line.
PLANE
In design terms the plane is often best
understood as the medium for other treatment,
such as the application of texture or colour or as
a device to enclose space.
▹ A one-dimensional line is extended to produce
a two-dimensional plane.
▹ Planes can be flat, curved or twisted.
▹ Planes can be implied as well as real.
▹ Planes in different positions may enclose
space.
▹ Naturally perfect planes are few.
▹ Faces of built forms are planes.
▹ Planes can be used as media for other
treatment.
▹ Planes can be used for their inherent qualities
such as reflection.

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 VOLUME

▹Volume is the three-dimensional extension of a two-dimensional plane.

▹Volume can be solid or open.
▹ Solid volumes can be geometric or irregular.
▹Buildings, landforms, trees and woods are all solid volumes —mass in
space.
▹Open volumes are defined by planes or other solid volumes to create
enclosed space. • Interiors of buildings, deep valleys and the space
beneath the forest canopy are all open volumes.

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(a) Flat, simple, geometric
planes.

(b) Curved and twisted planes.

 TYPES OF VOLUME

TYPES OF SOLID VOLUME Is the color of blood, and because

of this it has historically been
associated with sacrifice, danger
(a) Geometric solid
Solid volume— and courage.
volumes: typical
Where the three-
Euclidean forms.
dimensional element
angular.
forms a volume or
(b) Irregular solid
mass in space
volumes; soft and
rounded, hard and Red
angular.

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 TYPES OF VOLUME

Open volume TYPES OF OPEN

VOLUME
where a volume of (a)Regular and
space is enclosed by
other elements such as (b)Irregular open
planes.. volumes.
. tubes or pipes: these
Tunnels,
open volumes are framed by
enclosing planes.

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Combinations of ▹It is rare for one basic
element to exist in
Elements isolation.
▹ Distinctions between
elements may be blurred.
▹ Distance may change
the perception of which
element is present

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 NEGATIVE SPACE
• Negative space is the empty area surrounding a positive shape. When designing with
recognizable subject matter, identifying positive shape and negative space is easy. The
relationship between this shape and space is called figure/ground. The figure is the
positive shape, and the background is the negative space.
• In the given Figure, the larger image to the left is the original illustration as it was
published. The smaller darkened image at the top right indicates the figure or
positive shape. The smaller darkened image at the bottom right indicates the ground
or negative space.
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• In some designs, the negative space is confused with the positive shape and vice versa.
This technique adds interest to designs and reminds us that negative space is a design
element not to be ignored..

To understand negative space fully, the surface boundaries around a design must be defined.
This area is called the picture frame. The picture frame will aid in creating and defining those
areas that are positive shapes or negative space.

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 VOLUME

Volume defines 3D visuals that have length, width, and depth. Images of
this element can be represented in 2D in this book; however, realistically,
volume must be observed from an assortment of angles and observed in
an actual environment. This could be done virtually using a time-based
medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or video, but because it would be
viewed on a monitor, it would still technically be a 2D image. This book
deals with volume indirectly and attempts to include 3D examples when
discussing the elements and principles. Interior design, architecture,
industrial design, and sculpture share the same basic principles of design
as 2D shapes.

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VALUE
Value describes light and dark. It is dependent on light, without which value
does not exist. Light permits us to see the contrast of values that make up
shape and form. Extreme contrast of values in a design gives a sense of clarity
and depth, as shown in the painting on the right in Figure. Similar values may
give a sense of subtlety, as shown in the design on the left.

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Value and Design : When values are very light, the term high key is used.
Lighter values suggest a brighter, happier mood, as seen in the painting on
the left in Figure. Conversely, dark values are called low key. They usually
feel somber and serious, as seen in the design on the right.

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 COLOR
• Color is essentially an element of light. If you have ever looked at natural light
shining through a prism, you can see how light can be broken down into
various colors.

A surface that is painted red reflects only the red rays and absorbs the rest of
the colored rays. Green paint absorbs all the rays except the green rays, which
are reflected. This kind of color produced from reflected light is called
subtractive.

Color that is made from emitted light, such as a computer monitor, is combined
to make that color and is referred to as additive.

When discussing color mixing, these two systems are very different from each
other. If you combine the primary subtractive colors of yellow, red, and blue, you
will get a muddy gray. If you combine the primary additive colors of red, green,
and blue, you will get a white light.
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TEXTURE
Texture is the surface quality of an object. There are two types of texture: tactile and
implied. Implied texture is texture that we can see but cannot feel or touch.
Technically, it is not texture at all—it is the illusion of texture. Tactile texture is texture
we can actually touch and feel. Looking at Figure ,the painting on the left uses
implied textures on almost every surface. The actual ceramic jar portrayed by a
photograph on the right is an example of tactile texture; however, the photograph
itself is an example of implied texture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzVKFLkZSw

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THANKS!

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