Use of visual elements by Chung Wye Kit

Use of visual elements

Visual elements are the constitutions of visuals or the things we see such as objects, sculptures, pictures, paintings, photos and etc. In simpler terms, visual elements are the little and basic detail that make up an artwork or design. "When looking at an artwork, one can see different colours, values, textures, lines and shapes. You see countless ways artists combine and organize these elements so their ideas and feelings can be communicated and understood by the viewer".(D. Cason,2008)

Each visual element has its own specific use and purpose and in this blog, the author will identify the element together with its uses, types and examples.


Line

We start off the list of visual elements with lines because it is the most fundamental and basic visual element. Lines is known as the most fundamental element because it gives rise to shape which gives rise to form that leads to creating textures that finally blossoms into patterns.

 

Figure 1.0

Lines can be used to attract attention towards a point of interest such as in Figure 1.0, where perspective lines are used in order to point towards the Taj Mahal drawing.

Figure 1.1

Lines can also be used to record the outlines or boundaries of a form such as in Figure 1.1 where the form of a hand holding a tennis ball is drawn

Figure 1.2

Lines are also used to show motion or movement as well as directions such as in Figure 1.2 where the lines are used to show that a ball is moving in a direction towards the right.

Now that we have learned about the uses of lines, we’ll move on to recognising the types of lines and their uses.

There are two categories of lines namely:

- Actual Lines

*Contour lines

*Horizontal lines

*Vertical Lines

*Diagonal Lines

-Implied Lines

*Broken or dotted lines

The difference between these two categories of lines is that, actual lines are the lines present in an artwork, for example horizontal, vertical or even diagonal lines. They are usually used to record an outline. On the other hand, implied lines are lines that are not physically there in an artwork, instead are imagined by the viewer. Implied lines are normally used to convey movement such as using dotted lines.

 

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3 is an example of the usage of contour lines. This type of line is used to define a form or an outline. In this case the contour lines are used to draw the outline of the hand sign.

 Figure 1.4

There are also vertical lines such as in Figure 1.4 which is used to show strength, power or growth.

 

Figure 1.5

Horizontal lines as in Figure 1.5 are used to show a stability. In this picture a hand print art is produced only by using horizontal lines and it gives off a feeling that shows stability.

 

Figure 1.6

In figure 1.6, diagonal lines are portrait at the ramp; it is used to signify movement, activity and speed.

 

 

Figure 1.7

Figure 1.7 is an example of the usage of implied lines. In this picture, the golfers are lined up, forming an implied line showing motion and direction. The green arrow represents the imaginary line that is formed when looking at the picture.

Shapes

Now that we have seen and understand the most basic visual element which is line, we will move on to the next visual element which is formed by line which is known as shapes. Shapes are two-dimensional forms that has an outline or a boundary. Since shapes are two-dimensional, they only have length and width. A shape is created by an enclosed line. Shape is important to give out meaning of an artwork. For example, a curvy or 'shapy' line on a woman's body indicates feminine and sexiness while on the other hand a curvy shape on a man's arm indicates masculinity.

 

Figure 2.0

Figure 2.0 shows some examples of the shapes and curves or also known as 'boundaries' of the woman's body. Note that the pear and hourglass shapes are what people normally perceive as ideal or sexy, thus the shape itself does its role to give off that kind of feeling or meaning.

 Figure 2.1

On the other hand, on Figure 2.1, curvy and angular shapes on the man's arms usually describes masculinity and athleticism.

Shapes are divided into two basic categories which are geometric shapes and organic shapes.

Geometric shapes are shapes that are regular and easily recognizable. Examples of geometric shapes include circles, squares, rectangles, and etc. Geometric shapes can be accurately measured in terms of its width, length, area and other mathematical related components. Organic shapes on the other hand, are formless or could be defined as a shape with unpredictable edges. Examples of organic shapes includes skies, clouds, bacterias, animals, plants and many other things.

 

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.2 shows examples of geometric shapes such as circle, triangle, rectangle and even trapezoid.

Figure 2.3

Figure 2.3 shows an organic shape because it has an unpredictable and less defined edges. Its shape is also irregular compared to the geometric shapes.

Forms

We know that shapes are two-dimensional but there's also another visual element that is three-dimensional and they are known as forms. Forms can be best explained by a three-dimensional shape. The fundamental functions of form are similar to those in shapes, the difference is that since forms are three-dimensional, they have an extra element that represents depth. With depth, more meanings or illustrations can be shown through forms.

 Figure 3.0

Figure 3.0 is an image that shows the difference between form and shape. The picture on the left represents form while the picture on the right represents shapes. When using form, the contrast and shadows are implemented to give a more 3D kind of look to the artwork. This helps to show more details of the picture.

There are many kinds of forms in art such as sculptures, pottery, architecture, wood crafts and etc.

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.1 is a picture of animal-shaped sculptures. In this picture, we can clearly see its 3D form.

Figure 3.2

In figure 3.2, another kind of form is shown in the art of pottery.

Texture

Textures are basically the element that makes a shape or a form to look more realistic. To illustrate this, take a tree for an example. When an artist draws a tree, he could draw it with a rough texture or with a smoother texture depending on what kind of mood the artist would like the viewer to see. Likewise, a table could be smooth or rough, a sculpture or even pottery could be rough or smooth. To put in simpler terms, texture is the value of roughness of the surface of an artwork.

There are two types of textures which are tactile textures and visual textures. Tactile textures are the look and feel on things and objects that we can touch by our hands. For example, a soap feels smooth wihle sandpaper feels rough. Those kind of feelings that we feel by our hands on the surface of the real-life actual objects are tactile textures. Visual textures only applies to textures that are created by humans, meaning textures that appear in art forms such as drawing or painting. Visual textures are textures that we cannot feel by our hand and is only perceived by the eyes and mind when looking at an artform.

 Figure 4.0

Figure 4.0 shows a visual texture of a tree bark. This gives off a feel that the tree is very rough.

 Figure 4.1

Figure 4.1 is also an example of a visual texture, the water gives off a smooth kind of feel to the picture.

Figure 4.2

Figure 4.2 shows a picture of a snake. In real life, the snake's tactile texture is rough due to its scaly skin that we can feel by our hands.

Space

In three-dimensional artworks, space is defined by the actual space surrounding the artwork or object in terms of width, height and depth. Space is used to show focus on an object. For example, imagine a sculpture that is located in a very very big and spacious room as compared to the same sculpture located at a small in narrow room. The one located in the narrow room would be more focused upon while the one located in the spacious room would be less focused upon. In two-dimensional artworks however, space refers to the object arrangement in the surface of the picture itself.

There are many types of space that artists use to create illusions in their artwork. For example, positive and negative space, implied space, perspective space and etc.

Figure 5.0

Figure 5.0 shows an artwork displaying both positive and negative space. Positive space are the ones colored black while negative space are the ones in white.

Figure 5.1

Figure 5.1 shows a way that artists use to manipulate space in two-dimensional drawings.

Figure 5.2

Figure 5.2 also shows a way to make it look like the space are more limited and cramped by overlapping the pool balls.

Figure 5.3

Figure 5.3 is an example of using perspectives to create space. Perspectives are drawn or illustrated by playing around with the concepts of vanishing line and horizon line.

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.4 is a brilliant artwork that shows the true power and beauty of manipulating space. In this picture, the space are endless. It creates many illusions and plays around with the mind.

Movement or Motion

Movement or motion element in an artwork is what makes the viewer's mind to perceive that the picture in the artwork or painting  is actually in motion but in actual fact, it is stationary. It gives an effect or illusion that the picture is moving. This can be accomplished by the use of appearance of blurred movements or even by creating an actual artwork such as sculptures that actually moves.

 Figure 6.0

Figure 6.0 shows an example of an actual moving artwork that uses the movement of water. This type of artwork is usually known as kinetic.

Figure 6.1

Figure 6.1 is also another example of a kinetic sculpture where it appears to look like ink's are dripping down from the ceiling to the floor, but in actual fact, everything in the picture are actual stationary sculptures.

Figure 6.2

In figure 6.2, the element of motion is shown using the blurred lines behind the circular objects. It is just a painting but when looking at the objects, it gives off an illusion that the object is actually in motion.

Figure 6.3

Figure 6.3 is another method that artists use in order to imply motion in two-dimensional paintings which uses the art of positioning. By placing the eagle with its wings flapped backwards in that spot which is close to the fish gives us a feeling that the eagle is actually moving and striking towards the fish quickly.

Figure 6.4

Motion can also be achieved as in Figure 6.4 by placing an artwork at a moving stance which makes the viewer think that it is actually in motion.

Conclusion

After conducting a background study about visual elements, the author decided that the best visual element to be used in the re-branding design in the next assignment would be, line, shapes and motion. The reason is because line is an essential element and has a lot of uses which is appropriate when doing the 'Milo' logo design. Since Milo strongest marketing point is that it provides energy for the customers when they consume the product, we think that the best concept to design is by creating a design that shows movement or a logo that is 'energized'. This is where lines and motion elements comes into good use. We could use lines or blurred appearance to show that the design is actually energized and are in motion.

On the other hand, we also think that it is appropriate to use the shape element since it is two-dimensional as compared to using forms. This helps to maintain the core identity of the Milo design as it has always been a two-dimensional design. Thus we would like to keep it that way to preserve its history.

 

Reference

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Jirousek, C. 2014. Introduction to the Elements of Design. [online] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/element.htm [Accessed: 22 Feb 2014].

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