Humanities

And The Arts

Arts
 HUMANITIES
– comes from the Latin humanus,
which means human, cultured, and
refined. To be human is to have or
show qualities, like rationality,
kindness, and tenderness.
- it refers to the arts – the visual arts
such as architecture; painting and
sculpture; music; dance; the theater or
drama; and literature.
What are the Humanities?
The humanities are
those academic
disciplines that study
the expressions of
human beings that
explore and reveal
what it means to be
human.
What are the Humanities?
The disciplines that
study the expressions
of human beings and
explore what it means
to be human are
philosophy, language,
social science, history,
literature, religion, and
ART.
Humanities
Today, humanities refer to a loosely defined group of
cultural subject area
Arts –
 visual arts - painting, sculpture, architecture,
 Performing arts – music, dance, drama, theater arts
What are the Humanities?
• The Humanities
interprets answers to
life as they emerge
from products of
human experience-
What are the Humanities?
• Products of human
experience are
– Religion
– Art
– Music
– Dance
– Drama
– Film
– Literature
 What are the Humanities?
• Humanities seeks the clarity of wisdom gained through
a disciplined engagement –
(Art, religion, music, dance, drama)
 What are the Humanities?

• Through the
Humanities, we learn
about ourselves and
Who are you?
we learn about
How did you get here?
others.
The humanities are about human
beings, their culture and their
intellectual achievements.
Humanities.
Why are the Humanities Important?
• Humanities are the key to
understand the diversity
and richness of all
cultures.
 The humanities are
socially useful for critical
and imaginative thinking
about the issues that
confront us as citizens
and as human beings.
 Humanities.
The Humanities are about
humans.

The Humanities are about what

humans produced and why they
produced it.
Humanities

•Human psyche
•Human nature
•Human condition
•Human behavior
•Human struggle
•Human
psyche
• –is where your power is. The
power of why you do . In your
psyche lies the potential to
overcome odds, and obstacles
big and small. The conscious
“you” would never allow you to
take on such a feat. Human
psyche is the force inside of a
human that says “mind over
matter.” “If you think you can
you will. If you think you can’t
you won’t.”
•Human nature
-- the natural inclination of the
human. The ultimate tendency of
a human. The basic makeup of a
human. “I was born this way.”
Human nature is the set of
psychological characteristics,
including ways of thinking and
acting, that all normal human
beings have in common.
Human
behavior
•- Human behavior is the
collection of behaviors
exhibited by human beings
and influenced by culture,
attitudes, emotions, values.
Human
condition
Why am I this way?
Human condition is
the disconnection
between what we are
and what we can be.
Why am I this
way?
Why is she this way?
What is she thinking?
Human struggle.
To make strenuous or violent efforts
in the face of difficulties or
opposition. To proceed with
difficulty or with great effort.
The struggle for survival.
The struggle to find the meaning of
existence.
The struggle to have questions
answered.
The human struggle for rights…
 Humanities.
The Humanities are about
humans.

The Humanities are about what

humans produced and why they
produced it.
WHAT IS ART?
By Leo N. Tolstoy
The great Russian novelist Leo N. Tolstoy (1828-
1910), author of War and Peace and Anna
Karenina, developed his own original philosophy
of art. He argues that art is important even
amidst extensive poverty and deprivation.
 Salient Points in Tolstoy’s
Definition of Art
 In order correctly to define art, it is necessary, first
of all, to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure
and to consider it as one of the conditions of
human life.

Every work of art causes the receiver to enter into a

certain kind of relationship both with him who
produced, or is producing the art, and with all
those who, simultaneously, previously, or
subsequently, receive the same artistic impression.
 Speech, transmitting the thoughts and
experiences of men, serves as a means of
union among them, and art acts in a similar
manner.

The activity of art is based on the fact that a

man, receiving through his sense of hearing
or sight another man's expression of feeling,
is capable of experiencing the emotion
which moved the man who expressed it. 
Art begins when one person, with the object of
joining another or others to himself in one and the
same a feeling, expresses that feeling by certain
external indications. 

 To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once

experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then,
by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or
forms expressed in words, so to transmit that
feeling that others may experience the same
feeling - this is the activity of art. 
Art is a human activity consisting in this,
that one man consciously, by means of
certain external signs, hands on to others
feelings he has lived through, and that other
people are infected by these feelings and
also experience them. 

All human life is filled with works of art of

every kind - from cradlesong, jest, mimicry,
the ornamentation of houses, dress, and
utensils, up to church services, buildings,
monuments, and triumphal processions. It
is all artistic activity. 
 What is Art?
• Art is a product made
with the intention of
stimulating the human
senses, the human
mind and spirit. The
driving force for art is
human creativity.
 What is Art?
• Art = the product of
human work and
thought.
 What is Art?
• Artist is a term
applied to a person
who engages in an
activity deemed to be
an art. An artist also
may be defined
unofficially, as, "a
person who
expresses
themselves through a
medium".
 The Left Brain
The left brain is associated with verbal, logical, and
analytical thinking. It excels in naming and
categorizing things, symbolic abstraction, speech,
reading, writing, arithmetic. The left brain is very
linear: it places things in sequential order -- first
things first and then second things, etc. If you
reflect back upon our own educational training, we
have been traditionally taught to master the 3 R's:
reading, writing and arithmetic -- the domain and
strength of the left brain.
 The Right Brain
The right brain, on the other hand, functions in a non-verbal manner and
excels in visual, spatial, perceptual, and intuitive information. The right
brain processes information differently than the left brain. For the right
brain, processing happens very quickly and the style of processing is
nonlinear and non-sequential. The right brain looks at the whole picture
and quickly seeks to determine the spatial relationships of all the parts
as they relate to the whole. This component of the brain is not
concerned with things falling into patterns because of prescribed rules.
On the contrary, the right brain seems to flourish dealing with
complexity, ambiguity and paradox. At times, right brain thinking is
difficult to put into words because of its complexity, its ability to process
information quickly and its non-verbal nature. The right brain has been
associated with the realm of creativity.
 The p
urpos
not to e of o
m ak e us u r hum
but to feel g anitie
make o s cou
u s aw o d abo rse is
are o ut ou
f ours rselv
elves es,
.
 FUNCTIONS OF ART
1.PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL FUNCTION
2.SOCIAL FUCTION
3.ECONOMIC FUNCTION
4.POLITICAL FUNCTION
5.HISTORICAL FUNCTION
6.CULTURAL FUNCTION
7.RELIGIOUS FUNCTION
8.PHYSICAL FUNCTION
9.AESTHETIC SCANNING
PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL FUNCTION

Lucrezia de' Medici, by Bronzino, generally believed to be My Last Duchess

"My Last Duchess" is a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologised as
an example of the dramatic monologue. It first appeared in 1842 in Browning's
Dramatic Lyrics. The poem is written in 28 rhymed couplets of iambic
pentameter.
The Starry Night is an oil on canvas by the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van
Gogh. Painted in June, 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum
room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an idealized
village.

Van Gogh depicted the view at different times of day and under various weather
conditions, including sunrise, moonrise, sunshine-filled days, overcast days, windy days,
and one day with rain.
SOCIAL FUCTION

El Filibusterismo (lit. Spanish

for "The Filibustering", also
known by its English alternate
title The Reign of Greed, is the
second novel written by
Philippine national hero José
Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli me
tangere and, like the first book,
was written in Spanish. It was
first published in 1891 in Ghent,
Belgium.
ECONOMIC FUNCTION
Encantadia is a Filipino
fantasy television series
(locally known as
telefantasya) produced
by GMA Network. It
was dubbed as the
grandest, most
ambitious, and most
expensive production
for Philippine television
during its time of
release
POLITICAL FUNCTION

The Tanghalang
Pambansa (English: National
Theater), formerly, Theater of
Performing Arts, is the flagship
venue and principal offices of the
Center. Designed by National Artist
for Architecture Leandro Locsin, its
design was based and expanded
upon the unconstructed Philippine-
American Friendship Center
HISTORICAL FUNCTION
The Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace,
Our Lady of EDSA, or more popularly, the
EDSA Shrine is a small church of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
located at the intersection of Ortigas
Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos
Avenue(EDSA) in Barangay Ugong Norte,
Quezon City.

Built in 1989 originally to commemorate the

memories of the People Power Revolution
and its peaceful outcome, the shrine
stands on the site of two peaceful
demonstrations that toppled Philippine
presidents Ferdinand Marcos (the People
Power Revolution or EDSA I) and Joseph
Estrada (the EDSA Revolution of 2001 or
EDSA II).
RELIGIOUS FUNCTION
-People in the olden times worshipped their gods in the form of
songs and dances.
- the first great architectural works were built for religious
purposes.
The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci
 PHYSICAL FUNCTION

The Burj Khalifa, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), has been the tallest
skyscraper in the world since 2010, with a height of 829.8 m.
 ART STYLE AND FACTORS AFFECTING STYLES
1. GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS- the place where the artist stays influences his
works.

2. HISTORICAL FACTORS- historical events exert a great influence on artists

particularly writers.

3. SOCIAL FACTORS- most times dictates the types of paintings, sculptures, songs,
dances, literary pieces and movies to be produced.

4. IDEATIONAL FACTORS- idea coming from various people influence artists.

5. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS- affected by their psychological make-up or frame of

mind.

6. TECHNICAL FACTORS- technique used artists employ a variety of techniques.

7. POLITICAL FACTORS- politicians and government officials sometimes exert an

influence on the artists.

8. ECONOMIC FACTORS- availability of financial and other resources plays an

important role in the life of an artist.
 GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
- the place where the artist stays influences his works.
 GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
• Marble sculptures are aplenty in Romblon because marble
abounds in that province.
• wooden sculptures, abound in Paete, Laguna(named after
paet meaing chisel) where wood carving is the primary
occupation of the male population.
• Eskimos live in igloos because their place is cold.
 HISTORICAL FACTORS
- historical events exert a great influence on artists particularly writers.
 HISTORICAL FACTORS
• Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, graphically
highlight the evnts that took place in the country
during the last century of Hispanic rule.
• Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables realistically depicts
the French revolution.
• the song Magkaisa is a product of the 1986 EDSA
Revolution
 SOCIAL FACTORS
- most times dictates the types of paintings, sculptures, songs, dances, literary
pieces and movies to be produced.
 SOCIAL FACTORS
• Ben Johnson composed his “Song to Celia”.
• Francisco Petracrch wrote poems for his lady love named Laura.
• “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” show present-day realisties n
Philippine society.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
- affected by their psychological make-up or frame of mind.

The Sick Child touches on

the fragility of life. It draws upon
Munch’s personal memories,
including the trauma of his
sister’s death, and visits to
dying patients with his doctor
father. He described the 1885
painting as ‘a breakthrough in
my art’ and made several
subsequent versions, of which
this is the fourth. 
 TECHNICAL FACTORS
- technique used artists employ a variety of techniques.
 POLITICAL FACTORS
- politicians and government officials sometimes exert an influence on the artists.

“The Filipino is worth dying for”

This simple yet powerful statement,
attributed to Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino, Jr.,
is one of the most popular quotes in
Philippine society. It is quoted by great
statesmen in their speeches, it is reprinted
on thousands of t-shirts – but in truth,
Ninoy never said this, at least not verbatim.
Elements and Principles of Art
The Elements of Art

The building blocks

or ingredients of art.
What are the elements and
principles?
 The elements and principles are the building blocks used
to create all types of art.

 They are the components in an artwork that can be

isolated and defined.

 Art Elements: Line, Shape, Form, Space, Color, Texture

 Design Elements: Balance, Proportion, Rhythm, Emphasis,
Unity, Movement, Pattern, Repetition, Variety
Line
 Lines lead your eye through the
composition and define the
edges of an object.

 Lines can vary in size and

direction. (vertical, horizontal,
thick, thin, etc), which helps
communicate the image to the
viewer.
 LINE

A mark with length and direction.

A continuous mark made on a surface
by a moving point.

Ansel Adams Gustave Caillebotte

THE MEANING OF
LINES:
DEVELOPING A VISUAL GRAMMAR
by Steven Bradley 
 Communication is an essential
part of life.
What happens when words won’t do? If you want someone to
look in a certain direction you might point in that direction.
We’ve all developed a grammar for communicating with
physical gestures and we communicate as much if not more
with body language than we do with verbal language.
 THE GRAMMAR OF LINES

A line is a dot out for a walk.

—Paul Klee

A line connects two points. It’s also the path made by a

moving point. Lines can be thick or thin. They can be long or
short. The can be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. They can be
solid or dotted or dashed. Lines can be curved or straight of
combinations of both. There’s an endless variety in what we
think of as a line.
Each of the different ways we draw or represent a line gives it
unique characteristics. Thick lines convey a different meaning
than thin lines. A curved lines send a different message than a
sharp straight line.
TYPES OF LINES
There are several types of lines defined by their use.
•Contour lines are used to define edges. The line create boundaries around
or inside an object. Most lines you encounter are contour lines. In web design
these could be the borders you add around an object or group of objects

•Dividing lines can also define edges, but what distinguishes them from
contour lines is they divide space. The lines between columns of text are
dividing lines as are the lines separating menu items.

•Decoration lines are used to embellish an object. Cross-hatching is an

example of using decoration lines to add shading and form to an object. The
line beneath liked text is a decorative line as are the lines used to create a
floral background image

•Gesture lines are quick and rough continuous lines used to capture form
and movement. They are generally used when studying the shape and motion
of the human form. You likely won’t use gesture lines (based on the technical
definition) in a web design, but you could certainly create patterns of lines to
signify motion or build up a form
GESTURE LINE
Thin lines are fragile. They appear easy
to break or knock over. They suggest
frailty and convey an elegant quality.
They are delicate and give off an
ephemeral air.

Thick lines on the other hand appear

difficult to break. They suggest strength
and give emphasis to nearby elements.
Thick lines are bold and make a
statement.

Horizontal lines are parallel to the

horizon (hence the name). They look
like they’re lying down, at rest, asleep.
They suggest calm and quiet, a relaxed
comfort.
Vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon.
They are filled with potential energy that could
be released if they were to fall over. Vertical
lines are strong and rigid. They can suggest
stability, especially when thicker. Vertical lines
accentuate height and convey a lack of
movement, which is usually seen as horizontal.
They stretch from the earth to the heavens and
are often connected with religious feelings.
Their tallness and formality may give the
impression of dignity.

Diagonal lines are unbalanced. They are filled

with restless and uncontrolled energy. They can
appear to be either rising or falling and convey
action and motion. Their kinetic energy and
apparent movement create tension and
excitement. Diagonal lines are more dramatic
than either horizontal or vertical lines.
Diagonal lines can also appear solid and
unmoving if they are holding something up or
at rest against a vertical line or plane.
Curved lines are softer than straight
lines. They sweep and turn gracefully
between end points. They are less
definite and predictable than straight
lines. They bend, they change direction.
Curved lines express fluid movement.
They can be calm or dynamic
depending on how much they curve.
The less active the curve the calmer the
feeling.

Zigzag lines are a combination of

diagonal lines that connect at points.
They take on the dynamic and high
energy characteristics of diagonal lines.
They create excitement and intense
movement. They convey confusion and
nervousness as they change direction
quickly and frequently. They can imply
danger and destruction as they break
down.
LINE PATTERNS
A series of lines form a pattern. These line
patterns convey meaning in addition to the
meaning of the individual lines.

Parallel lines of uniform width and

spacing create a static and orderly effect. It
doesn’t matter if the lines are horizontal or
vertical or diagonal. Even in curved lines
the repetition creates order, however one
more dynamic than straight lines. Not too
how the series of curved lines while mostly
static, still creates a sense of movement.

By varying the spacing between lines of

equal thickness we can convey motion.
When the spacing between lines of the
same thickness is random we get a dynamic
effect with little order. When we vary both
spacing and thickness the effect becomes
more chaotic and disorderly.
 SUMMARY
Lines are an essential building block in our visual vocabulary.
Combined with shapes, color, value, texture, space, and form
they give us a visual grammar which we can use to
communicate.

They seem simple. If we wanted them to, lines could create

the surface and represent the scratch.
Something as simple as a line can have an endless
combination or variety and through that variety convey
different meanings, concepts, themes.
 COLOR

Consists of Hue (another word for color),

Intensity (brightness) and Value (lightness
or darkness).

Alexander Calder

Henri Matisse
Color
 Color is simply the light reflected off
an object. It can bring excitement and
life to a work of art.
 Hue- actual color
 Intensity- brightness or dullness
 Value- lightness and darkness

 The artist used light colors to describe

the candle flame. The dark values give
the work a sense of mystery.
 The Color Wheel
 The color wheel is a means of
organizing the colors in the
spectrum.
 The color wheel consists of 12
sections, each containing one
hue.
 A hue is a name of a color on
the color wheel.
 The Primary Color Triad
 The primary colors are,
red, yellow and blue and
yellow
are the purest and most
intense of all the colors.

 The intensity of a color is the

brightness or dullness of a
color.

 They form a triangle on the

color wheel and are colors that
cannot be mixed from any red
other colors. These are the only blue
colors that can be found in
nature.
Primary Color-Base Artwork
 The Secondary Color Triad
 The secondary colors are
orange, green and violet and
are duller than the primaries
because they have been
mixed together. green
orange
 They form a triangle on the
color wheel and are colors
that are mixed from the
primary colors.
 Primary + Primary = secondary

 Red + yellow=orange
 Blue + yellow= green
 Red + blue= violet

violet
Secondary Color-Base Artwork
 The Intermediate (Tertiary) Colors
 These colors are yellow-orange,
yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet,
red-orange, red-violet and are even
duller than the secondary colors
because the primary has been mixed
with a secondary. Yellow Yellow
orange green
 These 6 colors are formed by mixing a
primary and a secondary color.
 Primary + Secondary = Tertiary

Red Blue
 yellow + orange=yellow-orange orange green
 red + orange = red-orange

 red + violet =red-violet

 blue + violet = blue-violet

 blue + green =blue-green

Red Blue
 yellow + green = yellow-green violet violet
Intermediate Color-Base Artworks
 The Analogous Color Scheme
 Analogous colors are at least 3
colors that sit side by side on a
Yellow
color wheel and have one common Yellow
hue. Orange
 Example- yellow, yellow-orange,
orange Orange

Red
Orange
 The Complementary
Color Scheme

 Complementary colors are

colors that are opposite each
other on the color wheel.
 Imagine the color wheel as a
clock. Pick the color directly
opposite that number and you
will have your
complementary colors. (2
green and 8 red)
 The Monochromatic Color Scheme

 Monochromatic colors are

one color(hue) with the tints
and shades of that color.

 Tint- adding white to the

color
 Shade- adding black to the
color
 Value- lights and darks of
an object
Tone- adding gray to a color
 The Warm and Cool Color Scheme

 Warm colors range from:

 yellow
 yellow-orange
 orange
 red-orange
 red
 red-violet
 and are colors that advance towards you.

 Cool colors range from:


yellow-green
 green
 blue-green
 blue
 blue violet
 violet
 and are colors that recede or go into the picture
Warm and Cool Artwork
Grayscale

 A value scale is a scale of grays

running from black to white.
 Neutral Colors
 Neutral Colors are those colors not
found on the color wheel but are
mixed by other colors on the color
wheel.

 White
 Brown
 Gray
 Black
Emotional Properties of Color

 Colors are often associated with emotions. Most

people have a favorite color, probably stemming
from long traditions and impressions of color.
The feelings one has about certain colors may
come from the association we have with warm
and cool colors in nature.
 Color of Emotions
 Red- often associated with evil, danger, energy,
vitality, speed and courage. It s dynamic when
used in a design.
 Blue- a calm, soothing, and tranquil color,
harmony and serenity , of divine inspiration
sometimes associated with sadness or
depression
 Yellow- a cheery color that embodies light and
warmth. Is the color of the mind. A creative 
energy which is joyful and uplifting.
 White- symbolizes purity,truth,
innocence, light
 Black- associated with bad luck,
mounful, stark, dramatic
 Purple- a symbol for royalty or
wealth and stands for the purest and
highest ideal. Is sophisticated and
creative.
 Green- signifies life or hope. Is
nature’s most abundant color. It is
the balance between warm and cool
and the symbol of friendship
Orange- blends with the physical
energy of red with the intellectual
influence of yellow.
 VALUE

The lightness or darkness of a color.

MC Escher Pablo Picasso

 SHAPE

An enclosed area defined and determined

by other art elements; 2-dimensional.

Joan
Miro
Shape
 Shapes help define a two-
dimensional object.
 They can vary in height and
width.
 The ovals and rectangles
describe the architectural
details in this fresco painting.

 Shapes can help define the

lights and shadows.
THE MEANING OF
SHAPES:
DEVELOPING A VISUAL GRAMMAR
by Steven Bradley 
 Shapes have an endless variety of
characteristics, each communicating different
messages to your audience. Even if your page is
nothing more than paragraphs of text you’re
laying down shapes on the page.

What kind of shapes do we have at our disposal? What do

all those shapes say to our visitors? How do they enhance
or detract from the concept you want to convey?
THE GRAMMAR OF SHAPES
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any
other way—things I had no words for.
—Georgia O’Keeffe

Shapes are two-dimensional areas with a recognizable

boundary. They can be open or closed, angular or
round, big or small.

Shapes can be organic or inorganic. They can be free-

form or geometric and ordered.
 The different characteristics of a shape convey different
moods and meanings Changing the characteristics of a
shape alter how we perceive that shape and make us feel
differently about a design. Shapes are a powerful way to
communicate.

Designers use shapes to:

• Organize information through connection and separation
• Symbolize different ideas
• Create movement, texture, and depth
• Convey mood and emotion
• Emphasize and create entry points and areas of interest
• Lead the eye from one design element to the next
TYPES OF SHAPES
There are 3 basic types of shapes.

•Geometric shapes are what most people think of as shapes. Circles,

squares, triangles, diamonds are made up of regular patterns that are easily
recognizable. This regularity suggests organization and efficiency. It
suggests structure. Geometric shapes tend to be symmetrical further
suggesting order.

•Natural/Organic shapes are irregular. They have more curves and are
uneven. They tend to be pleasing and comforting. While they can be man-
made (ink blobs), they are more typically representative of shapes found in
nature such as a leaves, rocks, and clouds. On a web page organic shapes
are generally created through the use of illustration and photography. They
are free form and asymmetrical and convey feelings of spontaneity. Organic
shapes add interest and reinforce themes.
•Abstract shapes have a recognizable form, but are not real.
They are stylized or simplified versions of organic shapes. A stick
figure is an abstract shape depicting a person. Typographic
glyphs are abstract shapes to represent letters. Icons are abstract
shapes to represent ideas and concepts. Some abstract shapes
have near universal recognition. Think of some of the icons you
see in the software you use daily.
 THE MEANING OF SHAPES

Circles have no beginning or end. They represent the eternal whole and in every
culture are an archetypical form representing the sun, the earth, the moon, the
universe, and other celestial objects between. Circles are used to suggest familiar
objects such as wheels, balls, many kinds of fruit. They suggested well-roundedness
and completeness.

Circles have free movement. They can roll. Circles are graceful and their curves are
seen as feminine. They are warm, comforting and give a sense of sensuality and love.
Their movement suggests energy and power. Their completeness suggests the infinite,
unity, and harmony.

Circles protect, they endure, they restrict. They confine what’s within and keep things
out. They offer safety and connection. Circles suggests community, integrity, and
perfection.
Squares and rectangles are stable. They’re familiar and trusted shapes and
suggest honesty. They have right angles and represent order, mathematics,
rationality, and formality. They are seen as earthbound. Rectangles are the
most common geometric shape encountered. The majority of text we read is
set in rectangles or squares.

Squares and rectangles suggest conformity, peacefulness, solidity,

security, and equality. Their familiarity and stability, along with their
commonness can seem boring. They are generally not attention getters, but
can be tilted to add an unexpected twist. Think of web pages that tilts
framed images to help them stand out.
Triangles can be stable when sitting on their base or unstable when not. They
represent dynamic tension, action, and aggression. Triangles have energy and
power and their stable/unstable dynamic can suggest either conflict or steady
strength. They are balanced and can be a symbol for law, science, and
religion.

Triangles can direct movement based which way they point. They can be
used to suggest familiar themes like pyramids, arrows and, pennants.
Spiritually they represent the religious trinity. They can suggest self-discovery
and revelation.
The strength of triangles suggests masculinity. Their dynamic nature make
them better suited to a growing high tech company than a stable financial
institution when designing a logo.

Triangles can be used to convey progression, direction, and purpose.

Spirals are expressions of creativity. They are often found in the natural
growth pattern of many organisms and suggest the process of growth and
evolution. Spirals convey ideas of fertility, birth, death, expansion, and
transformation. They are cycles of time, life, and the seasons and are a
common shape in religious and mystical symbolism.

Spirals move in either direction and represent returning to the same point
on life’s journey with new levels of understanding. They represent trust
during change, the release of energy and maintaining flexibility through
transformation.

Clockwise spirals represent projection of an intention and

counterclockwise spirals the fulfillment of an intention. Double spirals
can be used to symbolize opposing forces.
Crosses symbolize spirituality and healing. They are seen as the meeting place of
divine energies. The 4 points of a cross represent self, nature, wisdom, and higher
power or being. Crosses suggest transition, balance, faith, unity, temperance, hope,
and life.

They represent relationships and synthesis and a need for connection to something,
whether that something is group, individual, self, or project related.

As with lines vertical shapes are seen as strong and horizontal shapes are seen as
peaceful. Most everything said about vertical and horizontal lines can be said about
vertical and horizontal shapes.

Curved shapes offer rhythm and movement, happiness, pleasure and generosity.
They are seen as more feminine than sharp shapes which offer energy, violence and,
anger.

Sharp shapes are lively and youthful and are seen as more masculine.
 SUMMARY
Shapes like lines are an essential building block in our visual vocabulary and
grammar. Try to create a design without using at least one shape. It’s impossible as
even the blank page is a shape.

There are an infinite variety of shapes and shape combinations. Most of the shapes
you use and encounter will be geometric so try to work in organic shapes to create
interest where appropriate.

Abstract shapes are symbols representing organic shapes and are common to logos
and icons. They can carry a lot of meaning due to their connection with more concrete
natural forms and can communicate quickly and effectively and because of this some
are overused.

Look around you and observe shapes in designs and nature and think about what they
are saying to you, what they make you feel, what they are communicating. Do they
enhance or hinder the message of the designs you see?
 FORM

A 3-dimensional object;
or something in a 2-dimensional artwork
that appears to be 3-dimensional.

For example, a triangle, which is 2-dimensional, is a

shape, but a pyramid, which is 3-dimensional, is a form.

Jean Arp Lucien Freud

 Form
 Form is very similar to
shape, except it occupies
three-dimensional
space.
 It has width and height,
but it also has depth.
 The bean is a spherical-
like form. You can see all
around it.
Geometric vs. Organic
shapes and forms
 S PAC E
The distance or area between, around, above, below,
or within things.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Positive (filled with
something) and Negative
Claude Foreground,
Monet Middleground and
(empty areas).
Background (creates DEPTH)
Space
 Intwo -dimensional
art, artists can give
the illusion of space
and depth with
shading and
perspective.

 Positive
and
Negative Space
 TEXTURE

The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its

smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Textures
may be actual or implied.
 Texture
 Texture is the surface quality of an
object.
 Artists can convey texture on two
dimensional and three-dimensional
works.

 This artist using heavy blending of

the brush to get the sense of smooth
texture in the fabric.
The Principles of Art
What we use to organize the
Elements of Art,
or the tools to make art.
 B A L AN C E

The way the elements are arranged to

create a feeling of stability in a work.

Alexander Calder
 Symmetrical Balance

The parts of an image are organized

so that one side mirrors the other.

Leonardo DaVinci
 Balance
• A harmonious
arrangement of
parts or
elements in a
design
Chateau de Chambord
Asymmetrical Balance

When one side of a composition does

not reflect the design of the other.

James Whistler
 EMPHASIS

The focal point of an

image, or when one
area or thing stand
out the most.

Jim Dine Gustav Klimt

 Emphasis
• Viewer’s attention is
directed to focal point
in an artwork

Cronos Devouring
His Children
Goya
 CONTRAST

A large difference between two

things to create interest and tension.

Salvador Dali
Ansel Adams
 RHYTHM
RHYTHM
RHYTHM
A regular repetition RHYTHM
of elements to
produce the look and RHYTHM
feel of movement. RHYTHM

and
Marcel MOVEMENT
Duchamp
PATTERN
and Repetition Gustav Klimt

Repetition of a design.
 Rhythm, Repetition, and Pattern
• Sense of visual
movement
regular or
harmonious
pattern created
by repetition of
lines, shapes, or Marilyn Monroe

colors Andy Warhol

 UNITY

When all the

elements and
principles
work together
to create a
pleasing
image.
Johannes Vermeer
 UNITY
• Seen or felt
when all parts of
an artwork give
viewer a sense
of harmony and
completion
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
 The use of
differences and
change to increase
the visual interest of
the work.

VAR IET Y
Marc Chagall
 PROPORTIO N

The
comparative
relationship of
one part to
another with
respect to size,
quantity, or
degree;
SCALE.
Gustave
Caillebotte
 Proportion
• Relationship of one
part to another

Tipharet
Leonardo da Vinci