Elements of Design

Swapnil Hazra
Assistant Professor
Amity University, Kolkata
 Objective
The study of different forms, structures and their
relationship with each other.

To provide manipulation, imagination through

different shapes, forms and designs

Understand the basic elements of design and

creating composition.

Use of different patterns, structures, forms and

developing them together into a design.

Play with different materials, forms and explore

different method of creating design and
manipulation.

Understand the elements and principles of design

and then apply them practically in the rest of their
subjects
 Meaning, applications & Classification of elements
of design
Line form, Color, Texture, Silhouette and Details

Module I:
Elements of Design
Introduction
 Descriptors/Topics Types, directions & applications. Relevance
of line as an important element of structure to determine visual
interest of a design. Optical illusions with Lines

Module II:
Line
 Descriptors/Topics Shapes & forms. Creation of silhouettes,
Optical illusions with Silhouettes

Module III:
Silhouettes
 Descriptors/Topics Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colors;
Process and Pigment color wheels; Color intensity wheel; Color
chart; Spectrum colors, Use of color ring, Monochromatic color
scheme; polychromatic color scheme; Analogous color scheme;
achromatic color scheme; Complementary color scheme.
Optical illusions with Colors

Module IV:
Colour
 Descriptors/Topics Types of textures, use & Creation of
different textures, Optical illusions with Textures

Module V:
Texture
 Descriptors/Topics Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal, All over, Full
Drop, Half Drop, Mirror Repeat, Brick Laying, Checks, Twill,
Satin, Turn Over, Ogees, Random.

Module VI:
Placements of
Designs
Course Learning Outcomes:
After completion of the course Students will:
1. Remembering the concepts related to Identify different
elements used in any design
2. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the concepts to creating
art work.
3. Applying the use of acquired imaginative skills.
4. Analyze and evaluate basic elements and create their own
designs.

Pedagogy for Course Delivery:

● Power point presentations
● Lectures
● Informed learning
● small-group work/discussion
 Design?

T O O S I M P L E T O S AY

HARD TO DEFINE

https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/what-is-
design/
Design is not art
Design is not art
Design is not art
Design is not art

WHY NOT?
Art is a creation of which the main
purpose is to convey an emotion.
Art is a visual object or experience
consciously created through an
expression of skill or imagination.
Entertainment, which artists sometimes create
to make a living while practicing their skills
Kitsch, which imitates art, but is intended to
be decorative or as a status symbol
Decoration, which is added to things to make
them less ugly or boring or do some cultural
signaling. Decoration often occurs as part of a
design
 A design is a plan to make
something new for people, that
So what is Design they perceive as beneficial.
 A design is the concept of or proposal for an
object, process, or system.
In some cases, the direct construction of an
object without an explicit prior plan may also be
considered to be a design (such as in arts and
crafts).
A design is expected to have a purpose within a
certain context, usually having to satisfy certain
goals and constraints and to take into account
aesthetic, functional, economic, environmental,
or socio-political considerations.
Traditional examples of designs include
architectural and engineering drawings, circuit
diagrams, sewing patterns, and less tangible
artefacts such as business process models.

PURPOSE
Design is a discipline of
study and practice
focused on the interaction
between a person — a
‘user’— and the man-
made environment, taking
into account aesthetic,
functional, contextual,
cultural and societal
considerations.

As a formalised discipline,
design is a modern
 People who produce designs are called
designers. The term 'designer' generally refers
to someone who works professionally in one of
the various design areas. Within the
professions, the word 'designer' is generally

Who is a qualified by the area of practice (for example: a

fashion designer, a product designer, a web
designer, or an interior designer), but it can
Designer? also designate others such as architects and
engineers.

A designer's sequence of activities to produce a

design is called a design process with some
employing designated processes such as
THE PLANET NEEDS DESIGN design thinking and possibly design
S O L U T I O N S T O H E L P TA C K L E T H E methods.

C L I M AT E C R I S I S The process of creating a design can be brief (a

quick sketch) or lengthy and complicated,
involving considerable research, negotiation,
reflection, modeling, interactive adjustment,
and re-design.
 John Heskett:
Start with the Industrial Revolution and the
development of mass production, significant
contributions to the study of the history of design,
to the study of design policy and latterly to the
theoretical and applied articulation of the economic
value created by design.
Nikolaus Pevsne:
a German-British art historian and architectural
historian.

History of Sigfried Giedion:

Swiss historian and critic of architecture
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum:

design Devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary

design, and is the steward of one of the most diverse
and comprehensive design collections in existence—
more than 215,000 design objects spanning 30
The study of design history is centuries. From ancient textiles and works on paper
to icons of modern design and cutting-edge
complicated by varying technologies, Cooper Hewitt’s collection serves as
interpretations of what inspiration for creative work of all kinds and tells the
story of design’s paramount importance in improving
constitutes 'designing'. our world.
Design History Society:
It is an arts history organisation founded in 1977 to
promote and support the study and understanding
of design history.
 A German art school operational from 1919 to 1933, founded
by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar, that combined crafts
and the fine arts. The school became famous for its approach
to design, which attempted to unify individual artistic vision
with the principles of mass production and emphasis on

Bauhaus
function. Along with the doctrine of functionalism, the
Bauhaus initiated the conceptual understanding of
architecture and design.

The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential

Design Education School
currents in modern design, modernist architecture, and
architectural education. The Bauhaus movement had a
profound influence on subsequent developments in art,
architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design,
and typography. Staff at the Bauhaus included prominent
artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky.

Several specific features are identified in the Bauhaus forms

and shapes: simple geometric shapes like rectangles and
spheres, without elaborate decorations.

Buildings, furniture, and fonts often feature rounded corners,

sometimes rounded walls, or curved chrome pipes. Some
buildings are characterized by rectangular features, for
example protruding balconies with flat, chunky railings facing
the street, and long banks of windows. Some outlines can be
defined as a tool for creating an ideal form, which is the basis
of the architectural concept.
 the Bauhaus style, also known as the International Style, was
marked by the absence of ornamentation and by harmony
between the function of an object or a building and its design.

However, the most important influence on Bauhaus was

Bauhaus
modernism, a cultural movement whose origins lay as early
as the 1880s, and which had already made its presence felt in
Germany before the World War, despite the prevailing
conservatism. The design innovations commonly associated
with Gropius and the Bauhaus—the radically simplified forms,
Design Education School
the rationality and functionality, and the idea that mass
production was reconcilable with the individual artistic spirit—
were already partly developed in Germany before the
Bauhaus was founded.

The influence of the Bauhaus on design education was

significant. One of the main objectives of the Bauhaus was to
unify art, craft, and technology, and this approach was
incorporated into the curriculum of the Bauhaus. The
structure of the Bauhaus Vorkurs (preliminary course)
reflected a pragmatic approach to integrating theory and
application.
The term Bauhaus literally means
«construction house»
 Bauhaus: The Art of
Functionality and the
Function of Art
 “FORM FOLLOWS FUNCT ION”
S U G G E S T S T H AT T H E D E S I G N O F A N
O B J E C T S H O U L D B E I N F LU E N C E D BY
ITS INTENDED FUNCTION OR
PURPOSE. IN SIMPLER WORDS, THE
S H A P E O R A P P E A RA N C E O F A N
FORM FOLLOWS OBJECT SHOULD BE DERIVED FROM

FUNCTION
I T S F U N C T I O N R AT H E R T H A N B E I N G
D I C TAT E D S O L E LY B Y D E C O R AT I V E
ELEMENTS. THIS PRINCIPLE ALIGNS
WIT H T H E BA U H A U S PH ILOSOPH Y OF
P R I O R I T I Z I N G P RAC T I C A L I T Y A N D
F U N C T I O N A L I T Y O V E R U N N E C E S S A RY
E M B E L L I S H M E N T.
 THE DESIGNERS STRIVED TO ADOPT MINIMALISM AS
THEIR PHILOSOPHY, WITH THE INTENTION OF STRIPPING
U N N E C E S S A RY E L E M E N T S A N D D E C O RAT I V E F E AT U R E S
FROM THEIR DESIGNS. THEY BELIEVED IN THE POWER OF
SIMPLICITY, FOCUSING ON THE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
O F A N O B J E C T I N S T E A D O F E XC E S S I V E
E M B E L L I S H M E N T S . T H I S A P P R O AC H E N S U R E D T H AT T H E
S H A P E A N D D E S I G N O F A N O B J E C T D I R E C T LY R E F L E C T E D
I T S I N T E N D E D P U R P O S E , R E S U LT I N G I N D E S I G N S T H A T

MINIMALISM
W E R E B O T H A E S T H E T I C A L LY P L E A S I N G A N D H I G H LY
FUNCTIONAL.

MINIMALISM AND SIMPLICITY ALSO CONVEY A SENSE OF

AND SIMPLICITY M O D E R N I T Y A N D A D V A N C E M E N T. T H E M O V E M E N T
O R I G I N AT E D D U R I N G A T I M E O F I N D U S T R I A L I Z AT I O N A N D
S O C I E TA L C H A N G E , A N D I T S D E S I G N E R S A I M E D T O
D I S TA N C E T H E M S E LV E S F R O M T R A D I T I O N A L O R N A M E N TA L
STYLES. THROUGH THEIR EMBRACE OF MINIMALISM,
MOREOVER, MINIMALISM AND SIMPLICITY IN THIS
DESIGN ALLOWED FOR TRANSPARENT AND CONCISE
V I S U A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N . BY R E D U C I N G U N N E C E S S A RY
D E TA I L S A N D I M P R O V I N G L E G I B I L I T Y A N D C L A R I T Y , I T I S
E A S I E R F O R V I E W E R S T O E A S I LY U N D E R S T A N D A N D
ADMIRE THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF THE OBJECTS.
 One of the fundamental principles of Bauhaus
was the idea that art and design should be
firmly rooted in industrial production and
innovative materials. This approach highlighted
the importance of integrating technology into
the design process, encouraging designers to

EXPERIMENTATI explore and use the possibilities offered by the

machine age. Bauhaus designers embraced the
potential of machines for both artistic and
ON WITH functional purposes.

TECHNOLOGY
 The principle of unity was fundamental to
Bauhaus. The artists and designers associated with
the movement strived to establish a cohesive and
balanced approach to art and design that bridged
the gap between fine art and functional design.
They firmly believed in the integration of all artistic
disciplines into a comprehensive design practice.

UNITY OF ART
AND CRAFT
 The artists and designers associated with the
movement held the belief that art should be
simplified to its fundamental elements. They
PRIMARY regarded red, blue, and yellow as the purest and
most basic hues. The primary colors were

COLORS AND frequently used in their pure state, without mixing

or weakening them. By using primary colors,
Bauhaus designs achieved a sense of clarity,
GEOMETRIC simplicity, and visual impact.
Geometric figures, including squares, circles,
triangles, and rectangeles, were also prominent in
SHAPES Bauhaus design. Rejecting the excessive
ornamentation of past eras, the movement aimed
to adopt a more rational and practical approach to
design. Geometric shapes were seen as universal
and timeless and were used to establish order,
balance, and unity in Bauhaus compositions.
The use of primary colors and geometric shapes in
Bauhaus design was not limited to two-
dimensional artworks but also extended to
architecture, designing products, and even stage
performances. The objective was to establish a
visual language that could be applied across
 The Bauhaus recognized typography as a powerful
tool for communication and visual representation.
Its objective was to create a unified approach to
typography that integrated functionality, legibility,
and aesthetic appeal. The movement believed that
typography should be clear, simple, and the ability

TYPOGRAPHY to adapt to different mediums and contexts.

Designers such as Herbert Bayer and Josef Albers
engaged in innovative typographic layouts and
AND GRAPHIC fonts. They explored geometric shapes,
asymmetric compositions, and grid systems to

DESIGN organize text and images. The Bauhaus also

pioneered the use of sans-serif fonts, including
Futura and Bauhaus, which became iconic
representations of modernist design.
Bauhaus design is characterized by its focus on
unity, integration, skilled craftsmanship, primary
colors, geometric shapes, and typography. These
essential characteristics and elements define the
core of Bauhaus design and have had a long-
lasting impact on the world of art, design, and
architecture.
Key Principles No border between artist and craftsman. In a
pamphlet for an April 1919 exhibition, Gropius
stated that his goal was «to create a new guild of
craftsmen, without the class distinctions which
raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and
artist». It is said in the manifesto, that «architects,
sculptors, painters, we must all turn to the crafts!».
The artist is an exalted craftsman. «In rare
moments of inspiration, moments beyond the
control of his will, the grace of heaven may cause
his work to blossom into art. But proficiency in his
craft is essential to every artist. Therein lies a
source of creative imagination».
«Form follows function». According to this idea,
simple but elegant geometric shapes were
designed based on the intended function or
purpose of a building or an object. Though the
functionality needn’t be boring as we can see from
the Bauhaus buildings.
 Key Principles
Smart use of resources. Bauhaus ideology Gesamtkunstwerk or the ‘complete work of
is characterised by the economic way of art’. Gesamtkunstwerk means a synthesis of
thinking. The representatives of the Bauhaus multiple art forms such as fine and decorative arts.
movement wanted to achieve a controlled A building and its architecture was only one part of
finance, productive time-consuming projects, the concept. The other part is design.
precise material use, and a spare space. True materials. Materials should reflect the true
Simplicity and Effectiveness. There is no nature of objects and buildings. Bauhaus architects
need for additional ornamenting and making didn’t hide even brutal and rough materials.
things more and more ‘beautiful’. They are Minimalism. Bauhaus artists favoured linear and
just fine as they are. geometrical forms, avoiding floral or curvilinear
Constant development. Bauhaus is all shapes.
about new techniques, new materials, new Emphasises on technology. Bauhaus workshops
ways of construction, new attitude – all the were used for developing prototypes of products
time. Architects, designers, and artists have for mass production. The artists embraced the new
to invent something new all the time. possibilities of modern technologies.
 Design
Thinking
 IDEO is a design and consulting firm with
offices in the U.S., England, and China. It
was founded in California, in 1991. The
company's 500 staff uses a design
thinking approach to design products,
services, environments, brands, and
digital experiences.
While the company started with a focus
on designing consumer products (e.g.,
IDEO's organizational culture consists of project
toothbrush, personal assistant,
teams, flat hierarchy, individual autonomy,
computers), by 2001, IDEO began to
creativity, and collaboration.
widen its focus on consumer experiences
The firm currently employs over 500 people across
and services.
many disciplines, including: Behavioral Science,
IDEO U is an online educational program
Branding, Business Design, Communication
released in early 2015. Course
Design, Design Research, Digital Design,
participants are instructed on the
Education, Electrical Engineering, Environments
concepts surrounding human-centered
Design, Food Science, Healthcare Services,
design thinking.
Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Mechanical
In addition to the online program, IDEO
Engineering, Organizational Design, and Software
and its affiliates have released multiple
Engineering.
books on design thinking, including New
 IDEO
DESIGN Power of Questions
A good question should be designed as a learning

THINKING mechanism. The natural cycle of human problem-

solving lends itself to three types of questions
that are helpful at different points in the process.
PROCESS “Why?” questions help to understand the
problem, need, or opportunity and set the scene.
“What if?” questions spark new ideas and
encourage brainstorming. “How?” questions help
you narrow in on the best ideas and get practical
about implementing them.

Taking the time to craft a good question will

inspire your team and lead to stronger ideas that
actually address the needs of your customers.

FRAME A QUESTION
 IDEO
DESIGN Gather Information
An important piece of design thinking is drawing

THINKING inspiration from what people really need.

Observation, interviews, and surveys can help
you to better understand the groups you’re
PROCESS working with. When you listen actively and step
into another point of view, you build empathy in a
way that allows you to bring in a diverse set of
ideas and perspectives, which can lead to more
creative solutions.

When you are gathering inspiration, focus on

staying open to different contexts and ways of
thinking. One activity that can be useful is
analogous inspiration, which involves looking at
analogous contexts outside of the particular field
you’re working with to spark new insights. You
can then start to brainstorm ideas with the
FRAME A QUESTION insights you uncover through your research.
When you’ve spent
countless hours, months,
or years deep inside a
particular field or system,
a radically fresh
perspective can help
unlock sticky problems or
inspire new directions of
exploration.

Use this activity solo or

with your team to draw
insight from analogous
contexts and provoke new
areas of thinking.
Step 1:
Choose a piece of the service, experience, or problem you want to
focus on.
Example: We want to increase access to our school lunch programs

Step 2:
Identify one emotion you want to evoke in your audience of focus.
Example: We want kids to feel proud rather than ashamed of using
our programs

Step 3:
Brainstorm other services, experiences, or solutions that evoke that
emotion.
Example: Seeing their work displayed on a classroom wall, being
selected for a team, receiving a compliment on project

Step 4:
Explore how that analogous service, experience, or solution evokes
that emotion. Get specific.
Example: Uniforms and matching gear help them display their
identity as part of the team, they get to spend time with a new group
of friends who share their passion, they have a coach who values
them and wants them to be included
When brainstorming new ideas, you diverge
and explore all of the possible solutions to a
problem before converging on the best ones.
Divergent thinking focuses on quantity over
quality, prompting you to share ideas that
might seem wild or unfeasible. Then, you
narrow down with convergent thinking. You
might diverge and converge many times
before moving forward with an idea.
Prototypes provide a way to communicate your
ideas by making them tangible. They can take
many forms, from a sketch to a cardboard model.
When you create a prototype, it allows you to get
feedback from others and learn what’s working. In
the process of building a rough version of your
idea, you may even discover more ideas that you
hadn’t thought of before.

There are many different kinds of prototypes that

you can create. When getting started, be quick and
scrappy using whatever tools you have. Once you
build early prototypes, you can then test them with
your users, and use your learnings to improve your
When you test your prototypes, you learn about
how people would interact with your ideas in the
real world. As with prototyping, there are a variety
of tests that you can run, from low-cost guerilla
tests to higher-fidelity ones. Tests can give you
quantitative metrics and evidence, as well as
qualitative emotions and reactions from your
users.
Once you’ve taken your idea through prototyping
and testing, craft your story and share it with
colleagues, clients, and customers. Storytelling is
an important part of the design thinking process
because it connects you to the people you’re
sharing your idea with, and makes it relatable on a
human level. Without an engaging story, it’s hard
for others to understand why your work matters.
Cognition