Elements of Design
Famous definition describing this basic element: "A dot that went for a walk."
What is Line?
This principle describes how the elements are arranged to create a feeling of stability in an artwork.
What is Balance?
Red, orange, and yellow belong to this color category.
What are Warm Colors?
The art and technique of arranging text in a design.
What is Typography?
The main primary reason for using visual hierarchy in design.
What is to improve readability and guide the audience's attention?
This element refers to the area around or inside objects in a composition.
What is Space?
This principle makes certain parts of a design stand out to grab attention.
What is Emphasis?
This color model is specifically used for digital screens.
What is RGB?
Times New Roman is an example of one of these, whereas bold, italic, or 14 pt size are a specific font.
What is a Typeface?
This design principle suggests that grouping related elements together (like an event's date, time, and location) helps viewers understand their connection.
What is Proximity?
This element describes how light or dark a color is.
Value
This principle describes the path the viewer's eye takes through a design.
What is Movement?
Black, white, and gray are examples of these types of colors.
What are Neutral Colors?
This alignment choice is most commonly used for reading long passages of body text.
What is Left Alignment?
Using this principle consistently creates a sense of order and structure across a layout.
What is Alignment?
This element represents the tactile quality of a surface—how it feels or looks like it would feel.
What is Texture?
This principle occurs when all elements in a composition work together to create a sense of completeness or harmony.
What is Unity?
Combining red, green, and blue light at full intensity in the RGB additive color system produces this overall color.
What is White?
The general rule of thumb for graphic designers when deciding how many different fonts to use in a single design.
What is no more than 2 or 3?
The positioning of font and the way a subject is facing can create this to guide the viewer's eye.
What is Direction?
The overall term given to the components or "building blocks" that artists use to create artwork.
What are the Elements of Design?
While elements are the building blocks of art, these describe how those elements are organized within a composition.
What are the Principles of Design?
A designer might choose cool colors like blue or green for a logo because they evoke these specific feelings or associations.
What are calmness, trust, nature, or peace?
While legibility refers to recognizing individual letterforms (ideal for street signs), this term refers to how easy it is to read large bodies of text.
What is Readability?
High contrast between elements—such as varying color, size, or shape—increases these two qualities in a design.
What are Emphasis and Legibility?