Last week I walked through some definitions of visual grammar. We talked about objects and structures, both abstract and concrete, as well as activities and relations. These objects and structures make up most of the design elements we have at our disposal.
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When it comes to working with elements in a design we have two basic classes to work with. We have positive forms and negative space. The most basic form we can use is the abstract point or it’s concrete sibling the dot. We can build up points or dots so they become lines which is our second most basic element.
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Last week we looked at zero and one dimensional elements, namely the point or dot and the line. This week we’ll add a couple of dimensions and talk about surfaces and planes (2D) and then move on to volumes (3D). Throughout we’ll consider the ideas of visual mass and weight.
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Structures, specifically patterns and textures, are used to differentiate one form from another and a form from it’s surrounding space. They also add interest, depth, and a sense of realism to your design. They can be added to individual forms or to the space around forms and they are created through organized or random structuring of elements.
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Loud and soft, dark and light, big and small. Each is a relative measurement of some quality on some scale. Day doesn’t exist without night and up doesn’t exist without down. Each exists in contrast to the other and contrast occurs on a scale.
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