This week I was given the task to capture the different Elements and Principles of Design.  Admittedly I was starting to over think this and try to capture some "Spike Lee" type images that would blow people away!  Lets just say that became a lost cause with my Canon Powershot and I had to take it down a notch.  For those who do not know here are the Elements and Principles that I set out to capture:

Elements of Design

• Line is a mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal, straight or curved, thick or thin.

• Shape is a closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like free formed shapes or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width.

• Forms are three-dimensional shapes, expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes and triangles are forms.

• Space is the area between and around objects. The space around objects is often called negative space; negative space has shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of depth. Real space is three-dimensional; in visual art when we can create the feeling or illusion of depth we call it space.

• Color is light reflected off objects. Color has three main characteristics: hue or its name (red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright or dull it is).

• Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or hard. Textures do not always feel the way they look; for example, a drawing of a porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.

Principles of  Design

• Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side; in asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

• Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area will be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.

• Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines edges, shape and color within the artwork.

• Pattern is the repeating of an object or symbol all over the artwork.

• Repetition works with pattern to make the artwork seem active. The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the artwork.

• Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head compared to the rest of the body.

• Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Variety is essential to keep rhythm exciting and active, and moving the viewer around the artwork.  Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing.

• Variety is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the viewer’s eye through the artwork.

• Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the artwork creating a sense of completeness.

This is a link to my Photo Bucket that will show you each:  AED200 - Module 3 Project 1

These are the images:

Now for each one of these I tried to capture the essence of the design quality.  It will be hard to follow with the slides above because they do not go in the order I was hoping.  But following along from the layout I listed above here is how I worked out each one of the elements and principles.

Line was easy to be honest, I looked for a while to find something interesting but this ended up being the one I liked most.  The lines repeat and slowly compress closer together and all stop along a subtle curve that holds them all down.
Shape without saying is in nearly every photo I have but this picture really emphasis the actual shapes.  The 2 circles and rectangle are easily picked out.
Forms here I wanted to show something that really would give the feeling of 3 dimensions.  I took the picture to give the view of 3 side of the piece and really show the shadows of all the nooks in the wooden frame.
Space took me some time to commit to.  I was not sure what I really wanted to showcase here but I ended up with a photo that committed to the negative space around the object.  The open space forces you to focus on the black and crystal in the center of the frame.
Color was a quick sell for me.  My wife picked up a plant that I have never seen before and it had a vibrant color and interesting direction of growth on the flower.
Texture took some experimenting.  I tried to get my dogs involved and based on the photo your seeing, clearly the dog thing did not work out.  Instead I made use of a pillow we have that really shows the short fur with the quick contrast of the flat black I added to make the picture have some extra quality.
Balance was another one I was not happy with when I went through all the photos I took.  I had an idea of capturing an abstract scene with a clear balanced quality but in the end we get something a little more everyday.  These 2 St. Patrick's Day bears balance the main focus of this picture.  Though they are different they still have a similarity that almost makes you overlook the fact that they are different and because they are on either side of the glass you do not notice their differences at first.
Movement was one that I wanted to really work.  This was another photo I took a lot of time making really complex and in the end the most simple solution really captured the principle.  The single diagonal line forces you to look at the circle that it points to.  You can not help but follow it at least once.
Emphasis came with the help of HGTV.  A throw pillow on a chair really takes the focus off the chair and brings you eye to the pillow or accent.  The little blip of orange is courtesy of my 10 month old and the little pop of color just added one more distraction that illustrated the emphasis a random color can add.
Pattern seemed to show up in alot of my pictures as well.  I just really liked how the like behind this glass forced the pattern to almost distort from the center out.
Repetition was so close to pattern for me that my natural reaction was to stick with finding a "busy" pattern.  These colored tiles have a clear pattern with 4 different colors that have yet another pattern within them.  If you look closely you can see the repetition in the tiles and color but the center circles to not follow the same repetition.
Proportion only seems to work for me when it was even.  I could not get the feel to translate to a picture unless the proportions were balanced.  The candle fixture I ended up using shows and even proportion that flows left to right and top to bottom
Rhythm worked really well on this wall art piece.  The circles with multicolored flowers incorporate well together and have a active pattern that moves through the piece.
Variety is what I see every time I pick up the kids toys.  They all make their way into one bin or another and when I saw it in this bin variety is the first thing that jumped to my mind.  The definition says that the elements are suppose to guide you through the work but I imagined it different.
Unity was my last big dream of really wowing someone with a cool picture.  I just was not able to really capture the principle the way I wanted.  These squares that show different sizes and colors all are complete in their own way and the way the surrounded each other gave me the closest feeling of unity I could accept.

Hopefully I was able to really show some good examples for everyone and I hope you were able to see my images as I saw them with relation to the Elements and Principles of Design.