Centre of Excellence in arts & design

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Visual Communication
Ar. Irfan Ali Brohi

Design Elements and Principles

Design elements and principles define the construction and make-up of visual
communications.

Knowledge of design elements and principles helps us to analyse visual

communication pieces using a common language.

Design elements are the things that are used to create pieces of visual
communication while design principles are the things that we do with the design
elements to communicate the information in a certain way.

Perhaps the best way to think about these terminologies is to consider design
elements as the basic building blocks of a visual communication while principles
define the way the building blocks are arranged.

Design Elements

Design elements could be considered as the marks we make on the surface or page.

In this study they are considered to be:

point, line, shape, form, tone, texture, colour, point, letterform.

Point

This is a mark which may indicate position and location. It can represent
a point of measure or be used in a purely decorative way.

Line

Essentially, line represents a single dimension, length. It can be straight,

curved or irregular and combine with other elements. It can create shape,
tone, form and texture. The weight and quality of the line may vary
depending on its intended use.

Shape

Shape is the space contained within lines. Shapes can be organic or

geometric and can be used in conjunction with other elements to create
form. Shape is 2-D.

Form

Form may be created by the joining of two or more shapes. It may be

enhanced by tone, texture and colour. Form is considered 3-D.
 Centre of Excellence in arts & design
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Visual Communication
Ar. Irfan Ali Brohi

Tone

Tone may be used to describe form in terms of its shadows and

highlights, and to create the effect of volume two and three-
dimensionally.

Texture

Texture may be achieved by the combination of elements such as point

and line. It may be applied in a realistic or abstract style to create an
arbitrary pattern or to simulate the finish of a material.

Colour

Colour should be considered in conjunction with the other elements. If

used well it can add interest and excitement to a piece of visual
communication. Colour may be used to specify areas, distinguish form,
and highlight compositional aspects such as hierarchy.

Letterform

A A A
These are essentially abstract physical representations of the spoken
work. The English language uses 26 characters and 10 numerals for
communication. Letterform can be manipulated to have an impact on the
quality of the visual message.

Design Principles

Just like the Design Elements, the Design Principles are an important part of the
vocabulary of visual communication.

Design Principles are simply ways of arranging or organising design elements.

In this course they are considered to be:

Composition, figure, ground, balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, scale,
proportion and pattern (repetition and alternation).

Composition

Composition refers to the interaction and relationship of the design

elements and principles in an open or closed layout. In technical drawing,
organisational conventions of composition must be adhered to.
 Centre of Excellence in arts & design
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Visual Communication
Ar. Irfan Ali Brohi

Figure/Ground

Are terms that are used in conjunction to describe how elements are
placed on the page.

Figure
This usually refers to images which become more visually dominant than
the ground on which they are placed within a composition. It may also
mean ‘positive space’.

Ground

The ground is the ‘background’ or ‘negative space’, which is clearly

defined and at times may be dominant within the composition.

Balance

This may be ‘symmetrical’ where elements are mirrored on opposite sides

of a visual axis to create a stable and formal composition, or
‘asymmetrical’ where balanced elements, not mirrored on opposite sides
of a visual axis, create a dynamic informal composition.

Contrast

All effective combinations of forms are based on qualitative contrasts.

Contrast should always be thought of in terms of creating tension between
opposites: large-small, light-dark, soft-hard, etc.

Cropping

An image can be modified by selecting an area of interest to; emphasise,

create dominance, or simply to clarify information.
Cropping an image can further imply an extension beyond the picture
plane.

Hierarchy

2
1
Visual information can be arranged in order of importance. Factors
determining the hierarchy may be the size, colour or placement of the
3 visual components and/or the arrangement of the information. For
example, the focal point of a composition draws attention to specific
information.
 Centre of Excellence in arts & design
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Visual Communication
Ar. Irfan Ali Brohi

Scale

Scale generally refers to the size of the figure on the ground.

Its relative size and scale will determine the hierarchy of visual
components within the presentation.

Proportion

This is the comparative relationship between the size of components or

parts of components within a visual presentation. Depending on the
intention of the piece, consideration needs to be given to the accuracy of
relative proportions, or the exaggeration of proportions, to achieve the
desired effect.

Pattern

Pattern is the repetition or alternation of one or more components to

create a visual unit. Any visual element can be used to create a pattern.
Repetition Alternation Pattern Repetition can be very powerful in creating a sense of order in a piece.
Alternation can create more complex patterns than those created by
repetition alone.

How are design elements and principles used?

Visual communicators are primarily concerned with conveying information through
images (pictures and letterform).

In order to convey this information well, designers need to attract their intended
audience to the piece.

The audience then deciphers and decodes this message. How well this message
decodes is up to the designer.

The designer uses design elements and principles are used in conjunction with one
another to help define areas of interest within a piece of visual communication. This
is important as designers wish to attract the viewer's attention to a piece of visual
communication. In order to achieve this a visual hierarchy is established.

What is visual A hierarch of any kind is a system of ordering or ranking which can apply to
hierarchy? people, animals, objects and so on.

Take for example the Australian government where there is an established

hierarchal order. At the head of this hierarchy is the Governor General, then Prime
Minister, then Deputy Prime Minister, then Cabinet Members, Backbenchers and so
on.

In any given visual communication there to is an order or ranking that occurs.

Instead of a predetermined order or ranking, like that of a government, a visual
 Centre of Excellence in arts & design
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Visual Communication
Ar. Irfan Ali Brohi

hierarchy is established by what the eye is drawn to and in what order. In any
given visual communication the eye tends to be drawn to the most visually
dominant aspect(s) first or the focal point. The eye then proceeds to areas of less
visual dominance.

A visual communicator therefore, is able to accentuate this hierarchy by using

design principles, such as contrast, figure/ground and pattern, to manipulate design
elements such as colour, line, and shape.