Design Elements
What are they?
What are Design Elements?
Design Elements are the building blocks of a design. They act as the raw material out of which a design is built. Design elements work together to express design principles.
What follows is a list of design elements used in the design of products and environments. It is not a complete list, but it does cover most of the bases.
Texture:
Texture: The look and feel of a surface
Rough:
Shiny and Smooth:
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Colour
Colour: Colours (also called Hues) can convey mood and attract attention.
Cool colours:
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Warm colours:
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Value
Value: (also called tone) Is the lightness or darkness of an area.
Dark colours:
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Image source: http://incineratedmortality.deviantart.com/art/Industrial-city-272479147
Pastel Colours:
Size
Size: How big or small things are. Can communicate relative importance.
Tiny:
Massive:
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Image source: http://www.public-domain-image.com/objects/computer-chips/slides/computers-chips-circuits-cr8.html
Space
Space: The distance or area between things.
Tightly Packed:
Spacious:
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Line
Line: A mark connecting two points.
Sketchy lines:
Smooth and uniform lines:
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Image source: http://venom-number-one.deviantart.com/art/Wierd-Sketch-105523532
Shape
Shape: Anything that has height and width.
Geometric rectangular shapes:
Organic curved shapes:
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Image source: http://pixabay.com/en/flag-black-yellow-square-lima-39100/
Form
Form: The 3 dimensional counterpart to Shape. For example: spheres and cylinders are forms based on a circular shape
http://moodle.lynfield.school.nz/pluginfile.php/2/course/section/1/output_u8nvX8.gif
Sphere:
Cylinder:
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Image source: http://pixabay.com/en/flag-black-yellow-square-lima-39100/
Dominance
Dominance: Where one design element overshadows another. Usually by size
Dominant
Subordinate:
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Material
Material: What a design is made of. This can influence both the aesthetics and the function of a design.
Stainless steel:
Image source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexkerhead/4025463248/
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/char1iej/3008469318/
Wood:
The End....
This is the end of the list. However, there may be other elements, particularly depending on what type of design it is. For example if you are designing a food item, you might include elements like temperature and flavours.
Can you think of some other elements of design that might come in to play in different areas of design.