M TSUJo u rn alism — Visu alCo m m u n icatio n D e ig n Prin cip le sV isual elements Lines Shapes Value Color Texture Repetition Decorative space Plastic space Rhythm Variety Organizing the elements Repetition vs Variety:First, you have to decide how many elements and how much of each to use. An image can be as simple as a line drawing or as complicated as a multi-textured collage. Dominance: Decide which ele ments you wa nt to stand out. Scale and color are two ways to achieve this. Space: Whether on a computer or on a piece of paper , you’re working on a two-dimensional surface. But you can easily create the illusion of space. Is this what you want, or do you want your design to stay flat and decorative? There are t hree simple w ays to cre ate spacial i llusion: •Placing shapes in front of other shapes •Changing the scale of some shapes (smaller shapes appear to be farther away) •Placing foreground shapes closer to the bottom of your frame. Our most common point of view is looking down on objects, which makes closer objects lower in our line of sight than those far ther away. Too much repetitionis boring; too much varietyis confusing and chaotic. Your design needs to find the right balance between these two extremes. These are t he five eleme nts that you have to w ork with in a tw o-dimensional image: If you do repeat the same elements, doing so in a rhythmic fashion will create interest . 1 1 2 3 (Light or dark) The process of de signing an image o r publication is a bout how yo u arrange the ele ments you choose inside of a frame or workspace. Here are six principles for effective design:
Repetition vs Variety: First, you have to decide how many elements and how
much of each to use. An image can be as simple as a line drawing or as complicated as amulti-textured collage.
Dominance: Decide which elements you want to stand out.Scale and color are two ways to achieve this.
Space: Whether on a computer or on a piece of paper, you’re working on atwo-dimensional surface. But you can easily create the illusion of space. Is this what youwant, or do you want your design to stay flat and decorative?
There are three simple ways to create spacial illusion:• Placing shapes in front of other shapes• Changing the scale of some shapes (smaller shapes appear to be farther away)• Placing foreground shapes closer to the bottom of your frame. Our most common pointof view is looking down on objects, which makes closer objects lower in our line of sightthan those farther away.
Too much repetition is boring; too much variety is confusing and chaotic.Your design needs to find the right balance between these two extremes.
These are the five elements that you have to work with in a two-dimensional image:
If you do repeat the same elements, doing soin a rhythmic fashion will create interest.
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(Light or dark)
The process of designing an image or publication is about how you arrange the elementsyou choose inside of a frame or workspace. Here are six principles for effective design:
Balance: As you begin the process of arranging your chosen elements in your frame,
you obviously need to avoid putting too many on one side or the other. But the most
obvious way, to put some on one side and some on the other, isn’t always the most
exciting way to achieve balance. You can create a more dynamic balance by implying
movement of the more dominant elements, or by strengthening the relationship
between the elements in your design.
Economy: Put into your design only what you need to get the job done. If anelement you are using doesn’t help your design, take it out. Economy doesn’t mean
simplicity, it means being only as complex as you need to be. Some designs need to be
complicated and some don’t.
By following these organizing principles, you are working toward the real goal of a design,
unity, in which all the elements join together to make a larger whole. Designers often refer
to the concept of Gestalt, which is summed up by the phrase, “The whole is greater thanthe sum of its parts.”
The elements you use and the way you arrange them should all be contributing to the
purpose of the design. Different parts fit together when you create a relationship between
them. There are lots of ways to create a relationship: parts that share the same elements, or
are the same size, or appear to be moving in the same direction. When the different parts
fit together, then they work together, and the design is complete.
Positive/Negative Space: In balancing your design, you need to give as much
thought to areas without objects in them as to the areas that do. These negative areascarry some visual weight as well.
