Vocabulary

Aesthetics: A branch of philosophy concerned with the beautiful in art and how the viewer experiences it.

Content: The subject matter, story, or information that the artwork tries to communicate. Content = What the artist is trying to say.

Critique: A process of criticism for the purpose of evaluating and improving art and design.

Design: Planned arrangement of visual elements to construct an organized visual pattern.

Form: Is very similar to the element of design shape. The difference is that the term is form is used in artwork that has three dimensions instead of two as shapes. The three dimensions are length, width and depth.

Icon: Is a symbol or a sign that has strong emotional power.

Iconography: The studies of identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct from artistic style.

Wayfinding: Encompasses all of the ways in which people orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.

Pictogram: A simple pictorial sign or group of signs intended to communicate without words.

Symbol: An element of design that communicates an idea or meaning beyond that of its literal form.

Subject: The content of an artwork.

Composition: The organization of elements in a design.

Negative Space: The space and shape created between two objects.

Gestalt: Is a principles or rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements.

Harmony: When elements in an image look as though they belong together.

Unity: Unity = Harmony and can be achieved through proximity, repetition, continuation, color or by using any of the Gestalt principles. The whole must be predominant over the parts.

Variety: The image is organized, but each design is unique. Creating several designs that must relate to each other using variety in form, size, color, or other visual elements.

White Space: Negative space and white space are related. White space is the area left intentionally blank in a composition.

Techniques For Unity

Proximity: Unity through proximity unites separate elements and makes them look as if they belong together by placing them close together.

Repetition: Unity through repetition is when the artist repeats design elements to create harmony.

Continuation: Literally means “something continues.” The design carries the eye of the viewer through and around the picture.

Grid Layout: A series of vertical and horizontal lines on a page.

Balance: An arrangement of parts achieving a state of equilibrium between opposing forces or influences.

Equilibrium: Equilibrium = visual balance and relates to our physical sense of balance. It is a reconciliation of opposing forces in a composition that results in visual stability.

Pictorial Balance: Pictorial balance refers to the state of visual stability created in a work of art. It also assumes a vertical axis.

Imbalance: When elements do not carry equal weight or eye attraction on either side of a vertical or horizontal axis. An artist may, because of a particular theme or topic, choose imbalance. In this instance imbalance can be a useful tool.

Symmetrical Balance: In symmetrical balance, like shapes are repeated in the same position on either side of a vertical axis. Also called bilateral symmetry.

Bilateral Symmetry: One side, in effect, becomes the mirror image of the other side.

Formal Balance: Conscious symmetrical repetition, while clearly creating perfect balance, can be undeniably static, so that term “formal balance” is used to describe the same idea.

Asymmetrical Balance: Balance achieved with dissimilar objects that have equal visual weight or equal eye attraction.

Informal Balance: Another term for asymmetrical balance because it can appear more casual than a formal symmetrical portrait in feeling.

Radial Balance: Balance can be achieved when elements radiate or circle out from a common central point.

Crystallographic Balance: Also known as “mosaic” balance, crystallographic balance involves creating a grid pattern and achieving balance by repeating elements of equal weight all over your design. There is no distinct focal point for crystallographically balanced designs, but using a grid is one of the best ways to organize your project.

Texture: The surface quality of objects that appeals to the tactile sense.

Value: Degree of light or dark in a color or an image.

Tint: A hue or color mixed with white.

Shade: A hue or color mixed with black.

Emphasis/ Focal Point: A compositional device emphasizing a certain area or object to draw attention to the piece and to encourage closer scrutiny of the work.

Juxtaposition: An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Ways To Create A Focal Point In A Composition

Emphasis by Contrast: An element distinguished from its surroundings or other elements, by its features, within a composition.

Emphasis by Isolation: Placing an element by itself from the rest of elements within the composition creates emphasis on that single object.

Emphasis by Placement: Using leading lines to draw the viewer’s eye to where you want them to look.

Absence of a Focal Point: Using texture, or pattern to create a feeling or suggest and idea. Artists sometimes choose not to have a focal point emphasizing the whole over the parts.

Degree of Emphasis - Maintaining Unity: The focal point, however strong should remain connected to the whole image.

Alternating Rhythm: A rhythm that consists of successive patterns in which the same elements reappear in a regular order. The motifs alternate consistently with one another to produce a regular (and anticipated) sequence.

Installation Art: A mixed-media artwork that generally takes into account the environment in which it is arranged.

Kinesthetic Empathy: When a visual experience (an art piece) stimulates one of our other senses..

Legato: A connecting and flowing rhythm.

Motif: An element of an image. The term can be used both of figurative and narrative art, and ornament and geometrical art. A motif may be repeated in a pattern or design, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.

Non Objective Artwork: A type of artwork with absolutely no reference to, or representation of, the natural world.

Polyrhythmic Rhythm: A complex pattern employing more than one visual rhythm or musical beat. A study in overlay of several rhythmic patterns at the same time.

Progressive Rhythm: The repetition of a shape that changes in a regular manner. A series of shapes that gets bigger or smaller as it repeats demonstrates progressive rhythm.

Staccato Rhythm: Staccato describes a visual rhythm of short and quick consecutive visual elements (or sound in music).

Visual Rhythm: A design principle that is based on repetition of visual elements.

Vibrating Colors: Colors that create a disturbance in the retina creating a visual vibration for the viewer.

Scale: Relates to the size of an object or work of art.

Proportion: Is linked to mathematical ratio and is about relative size.

Earthworks: Large-scale artworks created by moving or altering earth to create art over large areas.

Surrealism: An artistic style that stresses fantastic and subconscious approaches to art making and often results in images that cannot be rationally explained.

Golden Rectangle: The ancient Greek ideal of a perfectly portioned rectangle using a mathematical ratio called the Golden mean.

Golden Mean: The ratio in which proportions are found in the relationship of parts to the whole.

Human Scale Reference: Human scale helps the viewer to determine the correct scale of objects

Miniatures: An often-used definition is that a piece of miniature art can be held in the palm of the hand, or that it covers less than 25 square inches or 100 cm².

Hieratic Scaling: In art history, visual scale (how big something is) was often directly related to the importance of the subject.

Exaggerated Scale: A sudden change in scale surprises us and gets our attention.

Line: A visual element of length. It can be created by setting a point in motion. It is the most common design element.

Line Quality: Any one of a number of characteristics of line determined by its weight, direction, uniformity, or other features.

Contour: Shapes bounded or bordered by line, an outline.

Cross Contour: Lines that reveal the form and volume of a shape or object.

Gesture: Gesture lines describe what an object is doing rather than what it looks like. Describing the shape is less important than showing the dynamics of the subject.

Inherent Line: A series of lines tied to the geometry of shapes.

Implied Line: An invisible line created by positioning a series of points so that the eye will connect them and thus create movement across the picture plane.

Psychic Line: A mental connection between two points or elements. This occurs when a figure is pointing or looking in a certain direction, which causes the eye to follow toward the intended focus.

Value: A measure of relative lightness or darkness

Lost-and-Found Contour: A description of a form in which an object is revealed by distinct contours in some areas, whereas other edges simply vanish or dissolve into the ground.

Hatching/Cross Hatching: Placing a series of lines close together to build up value.