top of page
Purple dot

Principles
OF DESIGN

There are six building blocks of 2-dimensions design. These are your tools for creating original works of art.  What will you design?!

Design_point.jpg

POINT
A point is the most basic mark.

 It can be a dot or pixel. Once it’s 

placed, a dialogue begins with the 

surrounding space. For dot patterns, 

they can be the same size or not, 

aligned or varied.

Design_line.jpg

LINE

A line can be seen as a point in motion, 

a series of adjacent points, or a 

connection between two points. 

Lines can be straight or curved.  

Design_shape.jpg

SHAPE

Shape is a flat, enclosed area. 

They can be regular or irregular. 

They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Design_texture.jpg

TEXTURE

Texture is the tactile quality of a form. 

Giving a sense of the quality of a surface, it can be expressed with a variety of marks. 

Textures can be hard, soft, rough, smooth, woven, shiny, fuzzy, bumpy, or ridged.

Design_value.jpg

VALUE

Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a surface.

Design_color_hue.jpg

COLOR WHEEL

Color is produced when light waves strike an object and are reflected into our eyes. It is an element of art made up of three properties: hue, value, and intensity. 

​

Hue

The name that is given to a color, such as red, yellow, blue, purple, green, or orange.

​

Value

The lightness or darkness of a color. A color’s value changes when white or black is added. Adding white creates a “tint” of that color and adding black creates a “shade.”

 

Intensity

The quality of brightness and purity (high intensity= color is strong and bright; low intensity= color is faint and dull)

DESIGN ANALYSIS

 

Design is all around us! Look around. Anything manmade was originally envisioned in someone's mind: your clothes, furniture, chair. A great example of a design that's all over the world is the flag. Every country has one and each is unique in its own specific way.

 

The stars in the U.S.A. flag represent the 50 states of the Union and the thirteen horizontal stripes represent the original 13 Colonies. The color red is symbolic of hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocents, and blue represents justice, perseverance and vigilance.

 

Analyze a flag of your choice. What does the design of the flag mean? How are dots, lines, shapes, colors and images used in the design? 

​

Design a flag of your own. It can be a flag representing your family, a sports team or other group you relate to.

Flags of the World.jpg
bottom of page