Module 8

Lecture-1

Introduction to basic principles of design using the visual elements- point, line, plane and volume. Lines – straight, curved and kinked.

Design- It is mostly a process of purposeful visual creation. A piece of graphic design has to be placed before the eyes of the public, an industrial design product has to meet the customers requirement, an animation design project need to convey the right message in an interesting way, an interaction design product has to fit with the user's requirement and ease of usage and information and so the list goes on about any field of design. Unlike painting and sculpture, which are realization of the artist's dreams, design fills practical needs or desires.

A good design is the best possible visual essence of the best possible “something”, whether this be a message or a product.

One important thing to understand in design is ‘Space', an area where a design task will be performed or carried out or made or built in. The concept of space simply says that anything which is there and can be realized by us as visual or tactile is an element and the rest of the area where the element is placed is called a space.

Another important thing is dimensions and any element's representation in 1, 2 or 3 dimensions.

1-D is those elements which have only one dimension, probably length. These are mostly conceptual.

2-D is those elements which have two dimensions, probably length and breadth. They are mostly visual.

3-D is those elements which have three dimensions such as length, breadth and height (or width). These are visual as well as tactile.

The process to realize and apply the above is to understand few fundamentals of design which are essential to carry out any design task. Design is in a way a visual language and to understand it one must try to understand the elements of visual language.

The basic elements are grouped in three groups:

Conceptual elements

Visual elements

Relational elements

Conceptual elements:

Conceptual elements are mostly those elements which are not visible to us directly as we speak of them and hence do not occupy any space to be defined as one of them. They are mostly merged into other elements and are a part or a section of a bigger structure. They are Point, Line, Planes and Volume. If they are found to be existing as individual entity they are usually not termed as conceptual elements and rather become other elements.

Point:

It basically indicates position. By definition we can't actually draw a point, since to see one would require it to have dimension. What we can draw is a dot. In fact dots are the building blocks of everything else. It does not occupy any area of space. It is the beginning of any area of space and is where two lines meet or intersect.

Fig.111 points