Elements of Design

The first and most basic element of design is that of the line. In drawing, a line is the stroke of the pen or pencil but in graphic design, it’s any two connected points. Lines are useful for dividing space and drawing the eye to a specific location. For example, think about how a magazine uses lines to separate content, headlines and side panels. 

While our kindergarten teachers all hope we know what a shape is, for our purposes, a shape is any enclosed space defined by lines or in contrast to its surroundings. They can be geometric (squares, ellipses, triangles, etc) or organic (a speech bubble, a blob, those little spiky things that pop on the screen when Batman punches someone). 

Texture is everywhere as we navigate the world around us by both sight and touch. While we can’t feel them on websites and printed pages, textures from the outside world can be brought into a composition to give it life. 

Color is incredibly important and should never be an afterthought. Even a design set entirely in grayscale needs to be balanced and contrasted appropriately.