Graphic Design Final 01 | Elements & Principles of Design

Graphic Design Final Review I
Elements &
Principles of
Design
January 2014

Test Preparation
❖ Everything we’ve learned and experienced in here is for
two main reasons.
❖ 1. To prepare you for the UC Final.
❖ 2. To teach you the basics that every designer,
regardless of medium or field, must use and understand
in every task they take on in the field of choice.

Elements of
Design
• Line (& Points)
• Shape (& Form)
• Color (& Value)
• Texture (& Patterns)
• Space (Positive & Negative)

Points & Lines
❖ Lines are when two points in
space are connected.
❖ They can be horizonal, vertical,
dotted, solid, zig-zag, curved,
straight, diagonal, bold, or fine.
❖ They can show direction, lead
the eye, outline an object,
divide a space, and
communicate a feeling or
emotion.

Shape & Form
❖ Shapes are made by
connecting lines.
❖ Circle, square, triangle,
freeform or anamorphic are
used to identify shapes.
❖ Lines create two dimensional
or flat shapes.
❖ 3D shapes are called Forms.

Graphic Design Final 01 | Elements & Principles of Design

Color & Value
❖ Color is described with the
words hue, value, and
intensity.
❖ Hue refers to the name of the
color (ie. red or blue)
❖ Value tells the lightness or
darkness of a hue.
❖ Intensity is the brightness or
dullness of a hue.
❖ Remember the Color Wheel.

Texture & Patterns
❖ Texture is the surface quality of an
item.
❖ How something feels when it is
touched, or looks like it would feel
if it was touched. (ie. Sandpaper is
rough, Velvet is smooth, think of
the tree stump).
❖ Texture adds variety and interest.
❖ Able to weave complexity out of
elementary structures, on of this
world’s most ancient & prevalent
artistic practices.

Texture
Organic Texture Found in nature

Positive & Negative Space
❖ Space refers to the area that a
shape or form occupies
(Positive).
❖ It also refers to the background
against which we see the
shape or form (Negative).
❖ Both are equally important and
how you use them is key to any
design or art.

Principles of
Design
• Rhythm (& Movement)
• Proportion
• Emphasis
• Balance
• Unity

Rhythm
❖ Allows the eye to move from
one part of a design to another
part.
❖ Can be created by:
❖ Repetition of elements
❖ Variety with sizes in
sequences.
❖ Progression of tints to
shades.
❖ Shifting hues to analogous
hues.

Movement (related to
Rhythm)
❖ Movement is creating an instability,
making motion to blur the image.
❖ Movement can be achieved by using
graphic elements that direct the eye in
a certain direction such as arrows that
point the way overtly or a series of
lines or dots that get progressively
larger or smaller, creating a more
subtle sense of movement.
❖ Movement can be accomplished
simply by using a photograph or clip
art of something moving - a runner -
as opposed to something stationary -
a person standing.

Proportion
❖ Refers to the relationship
between one part of a design
and another part or to the
whole design.
❖ Comparison of sizes, shapes,
and quantities.
❖ Can create interesting contrast.

Emphasis
❖ Every design needs an accent, a
point of interest.
❖ Emphasis draws the attention to a
certain part first.
❖ Several ways to create it:
❖ Contrasting colors.
❖ Different or unusual lines.
❖ Different shapes or sizes of
shapes.
❖ Using a plain background space.

Balance
❖ Creates a feeling of stability.
❖ 3 types of balance:
❖ Symmetrical (formal
balance).
❖ Radial (radial symmetry)
❖ Asymmetrical

Unity
❖ When things look right together.
❖ Repetition of elements help
create unity (ie. curved lines
with curved shapes).
❖ Colors with common hues are
harmonious.
❖ Textures with a similar feel add
to unity.
❖ Too much can be boring, but
too much variety destroys unity.

Typography &
Misc
• Leading
• Embossing
• Gutter
• Foreground
• Resolutions
• Thumbnails

Typography
❖ Leading
❖ Leading describes the vertical
space between each line of type.
It's called this because strips of
lead were originally used to
separate lines of type in the days
of metal typesetting.
❖ For legible body text that’s
comfortable to read, a general
rule is that your leading value
should be greater than the font
size; anywhere from 1.25 to 1.5
times.

❖ Tracking and kerning
❖ Kerning describes the act of adjusting the space
between characters to create a harmonious pairing. For
example, where an uppercase ‘A’ meets an uppercase
‘V’, their diagonal strokes are usually kerned so that the
top left of the ‘V’ sits above the bottom right of the ‘A’.
❖ Kerning similar to, but not the same as, 'tracking'; this
relates to the spacing of all characters and is applied
evenly.

Embossing
❖ Creating a raised surface on a
paper.

Grids
❖ Anatomy of Grids
❖ Depending on the content that they will contain, grids vary in size,
shape and complexity. However, every grid is made up of the following
parts:
❖ Margins: The space that separates the content from the edge of the
page.
❖ Flowlines: Alignments that break the space into horizontal bands.
❖ Columns: Vertical divisions of space on a page.
❖ Rows: A series of flowlines that create horizontal divisions of space
on a page.
❖ Gutters: Space that separates rows and columns or two facing
pages.
❖ Modules: Individual units of space created from intersecting rows
and columns.
❖ Spatial Zones: Groups of modules that cross multiple rows and
columns.
❖ Purpose of Grids
❖ Grids give order to graphic design. They speed up the design process
by helping designers decide where content should be placed rather
than where it could be placed. For example, in a newspaper with a five
column grid, the designer knows to flow the text into those five
columns.

Layers
❖ Foreground - area of the
picture that appears to be
closest to the viewer.
❖ Middle Ground
❖ Background

Resolution
❖ The detail that an image holds,
it is often used for pixel counts
in digital imaging.

Thumbnails
❖ Reduced-size versions of
pictures, used to help in the
recognizing and organizing
them for previews.

Piet Modrian
❖ Less is More.
❖ He preferred primary colors
(Red, Blue, Yellow).
❖ His style was Minimalism.
❖ He enjoyed to use white space.

Emphasis in Flyer Design
❖ Typography (color, size, and
style)
❖ Shape & Size of flyer
❖ Use of color on flyer
❖ Use of white space
❖ Interactive qualities (QR
Codes)

Emphasis in Business Cards
❖ Typography (color, size, and
style)
❖ Shape & Size of card
❖ Texture of card
❖ Color of card
❖ Use of Color on card
❖ Use of white space
❖ Interactive qualities (fold outs,
cut outs, QR codes)

Graffiti - is it Art or
Vandalism?
❖ In the EU, graffiti is often
considered an art form (this
has a lot to do with Banksy).
❖ However, in the US, it is often
a crime to place graffiti on
public property.
❖ Should this be considered an
art form in the US?
❖ Why or why not?

Graffiti: is it art or vandalism?
❖ Toronto sets up official panel and the wrangling
starts over what to preserve
❖ By Larry Humber. Web only
❖ Published online: 07 November 2012
❖ Toronto is taking a hard look at street art, going
so far as to create an official five-member Graffiti
Panel, made up of city staffers with backgrounds
in “the arts, urban design, architecture and other
relevant disciplines”, which met for the first time
on 2 November. The first session was
contentious but civil, with panel members facing
off against property owners who were appealing
notices of violation for “markings” on their
buildings. “Even if it’s Picasso, you’re not
allowed to paint on other people’s walls,” says
Elyse Parker, a city official who is leading
Toronto’s crackdown on graffiti.

❖ At the same time, the city has begun to open its eyes to street art, realising that there is something of merit in the best of it.
Toronto’s council has already given its blessing to what is known as Graffiti Alley, a series of colourful backstreets only a few
blocks from City Hall. David Liss, the director of Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, who also has some
background in street art, applauds the move. “Certainly the Queen West Alley has some great work, so I’m in favour of
preservation,” he says. “Maybe they could start marketing it as a tourist attraction.”
❖ The Graffiti Panel considered nine controversial sites at its first meeting. It was careful to avoid the word “art”, almost as if were
an obscenity. “Questioning what is art is what we wanted to get away from,” says Parker.
❖ However, the term would regularly creep into the discussions. At one point, the head of the panel Glen Sharp referred to a work
under scrutiny as “art”, then corrected himself, saying, “Excuse me, I mean graffiti.” He also made reference to “the artist” more
than once. A panel member subsequently referred to “the art pieces”.
❖ Reaching a consensus will be difficult. One building owner appeared with his lawyer to defend his graffiti covered walls, more
than happy to let them stay. The panel wasn’t so sure, first opting to defer judgement, then reopening the matter before
deferring it yet again. The owner was asked to reappear at the next session on 30 November. “You can’t win,” he said.
❖ The panel had only photographs of the works to look at, and judging the subject matter could be difficult. “I’m concerned about
what the character is holding in his hand,” said one member about a lion figure waving an unidentifiable object. Additional
photographs were requested for the next session, to be provided 18 days before the panel sits again. But who is to say graffiti
artists won’t revisit the site in the intervening time?
❖ “If anyone thinks that an official programme will reduce graffiti, they’re sadly mistaken,” says Liss. “Many graffiti artists will
intentionally not participate and continue working unsanctioned. There is a strain of thought among certain graffiti artists and
taggers to ‘destroy’ and vandalise, while others see their markings as a way to claim space from ever-increasing corporate
control.”
❖ http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Graffiti-is-it-art-or-vandalism/28040

Banksy
❖ A champion of the “broken windows”
theory, Bloomberg criticized Banksy’s
presence in New York, saying in a news
conference that graffiti is “not my
definition of art” and, more abstractly, is
“a sign of decay and lost control.”
❖ the general public seems to disagree:
Banksy enjoys a reputation as one of
the most successful contemporary street
artists. The unparalleled accessibility of
the medium has driven the rising
democratization of art: artists ranging
from Bansky to Mark Jenkins are
eschewing museums in favor of the
streets.

❖ Indeed, at its heart, street art challenges the notion of control and
authority. As a medium, the genre deconstructs the confines of “high
art,” choosing instead to occupy a space that creates a physical division
between the art itself and the institutions it critiques. And from the
contrarian underpinnings of the art style emerges a genre rife with
sociopolitical commentary.
❖ The genre’s popular appeal resides in its unique ability to deliver social
and political criticism. With its urban grit, the medium’s inherently
subversive quality empowers artists like Bansky to embed activist
messages within their work.
❖ For street art, the setting is inseparable from the content itself. By
physically integrating itself into the community, street art also enters
into the community discourse, creating a sense of direct relevance
unparalleled by art hung on museum walls.

Argumentative Essay
❖ Jot down several good reasons why you support that
particular side of the argument.
❖ Look at the reasons you provided and try to argue with
yourself. Ask: Why would someone disagree with each
of these points? What would his/her response be?
(Sometimes it's helpful to imagine that you're having a
verbal argument with someone who disagrees with you.)
❖ Think carefully about your audience; try to understand
their background, their strongest influences, and the way
that their minds work. Ask: What parts of this issue will
concern my opposing audience the most?
❖ Find the necessary facts, evidence, quotes from
experts, etc. to refute the points that your opposition
might make.
❖ Carefully organize your paper so that it moves
smoothly from defending your own points to sections
where you argue against the opposition.

❖ When writing an argumentative essay, a student must first choose a topic. The topic must be one that
has two sides to it, and ideally, will have supporters for both sides of the topic.
❖ For a basic argumentative essay, a student should structure the essay so that there are five paragraphs.
The first paragraph will be the introduction, the second and third paragraphs will be the support
paragraphs, the fourth paragraph will be the counter argument with rebuttal, and the final paragraph will
be the conclusion. In terms of style, a writer would be wise to avoid the use of the personal pronouns "I"
and "you" in the essay. When a writer uses "I" in the essay, there is a tendency to follow that pronoun
with "think" or "believe" in the statement.
❖ The only thing that will result from this pronoun usage will be a loss of credibility and a weakening of the
essay. The essay will appear to be more opinion-based and less factual. In an argumentative essay, the
writer wants the essay to appear clearly factual. If a writer utilizes the pronoun "you" too often, the
audience will feel as though the essay is directed solely at them. This may not be catastrophic for the
writer, unless the reader begins as a supporter. With an overuse of "you", the reader may feel under
attack.
❖ The introduction will start out with an attention-getter; this must be an interesting fact about the topic or a
quote from an authoritative source about the topic. This will be followed by a general overview of the
topic, generally spanning three to four sentences. The final sentence of the introduction will be the thesis
statement. It is imperative that the writer must provide a stance in this statement along with reasons that
support this stance.

❖ [The next two paragraphs will follow the same structure; these are the support body
paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs will start with a topic sentence; the topic is taken from
the thesis statement. Within the paragraph, the student must have two specific examples
that will follow the reason of support for each paragraph. The specific examples must be
accompanied by elaboration. Students must display the connection to the thesis and explain
the importance of including the examples.]
❖ The next body paragraph, the fourth overall, is the most important for an argumentative
essay. The writer will state the opposing side of the argument in this particular paragraph,
followed by an explanation of this opposing side. However, the writer should not stop there.
The counter argument must be followed by a rebuttal, or a reason why the counter argument
is ineffective or wrong. This will further strengthen the initial position of the writer and give
more credibility to the stance that the writer has chosen.
❖ Finally, the writer must provide a conclusion in the final paragraph. The conclusion will start
with a restatement of the thesis statement. This will be followed by an explanation of the
significance of the topic and how it affects, or can affect, the reader and/or society. The
conclusion will end with a call to action. This call to action will hopefully inspire people to do
something that shows support of the original stance of the writer. These tips will ensure
efficiency when writing an argumentative essay.

Graphic Design Final 01 | Elements & Principles of Design

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