The Basic Elements of Design | FREE COURSE

understanding the fundamentals of design is the first step to creating visuals that have cohesiveness and Harmony when we look at a design piece we're looking at a well orchestrated composition and by organizing these elements in a thoughtful way we can create more than just visuals and these are design pieces that communicate a lot more hi my name is Aura kyung and I am a graphic designer with over 15 years of experience in this course we will dive into seven of the most basic elements in design that can help you improve your design skills your ability

to communicate through design how to describe design pieces and finesse Your Design Sensibility I'll show you real life examples and assets from envato elements so you can understand all about the basic elements of design envato elements is a great resource for high quality templates photographs fonts and much more once you understand the elements of design you can move on to the principles of design and that can help you organize all of these basic structural elements on a page let's take a look at the first basic element lines are the most basic elements of design they

come in all different shapes sizes and colors and once you understand them you'll be able to see them even when they're not there so let's take a look at this first example we can see that the lines are moving from bottom left to top right so they're indicating Direction there is a sense of movement we're moving from point A to point B the top right corner is where the information is so these lines are directing us there and the thickness of the lines have also communicates something so thin lines are elegant while thicker lines tend

to look strong they have more presence so this is a very successful way of using lines that are very visible on the second example we have wavy lines that communicate movement they're not straight straight lines usually communicate structure and they are more rigid so wavy lines are a different type of grid they add a little bit more of a chaotic energy and uh yeah straight lines would just indicate order in this case the lines are superimposing each other they're creating a very different type of grid waves so they are more relaxed and on this last

example the lines are being used to cut the direction of the image so the subject on the image is looking towards the right and then we have the Line crossing toward the left side um we also have to pay attention to how this line is used in contrast to the organic image to the waves something so organic that has so much movement so the lines tend to add more rigidity so here the line is also supporting the neatly designed information by dividing the top from the bottom information lines also can be seen as grids so

in this example we can see that there is probably a four to five column grid and once you start to see this you will be looking at design compositions in a different way you'll be able to see if they're using a rule of thirds or how many columns they're using on one page or a poster and that's really useful to figure out how a specific design composition is working through a balance or variety and all of those other principles so next let's take a look at shape a shape is the result of enclosed lines to

form a boundary shapes are two-dimensionals and they can be classified as geometric organic and Abstract geometric shapes are often mathematical and have structure they're very precise they can be squares circles or rectangles triangles so in this example we have a pattern made up of different geometric shapes we have exact triangles squares curves circles so this specific image doesn't really represent anything from real life and this type of shapes communicate structure and rigidity because they are so exact next we have organic shapes and these are well they lack well-defined edges and often feel more natural and

smooth in this case this fluid shape gives the notion of liquid in natural movement and the mix of colors also emphasize the depth of the organic shape and last we have abstract shapes so these are more minimalist representations of reality and for instance a stick figure of a person is an abstract shape here we have a trumpet and a violin that have been redesigned with geometric shapes exact circles straight lines mathematical curves but they represent something in real life another example of abstract shapes usually are logos logos are distilled to their more basic shapes so

we can see sometimes Elephants or bears that have been distilled to something very basic depending on what the concept is for the logo next up we have form or positive space anything like a DOT line or shape that is resting over the space form and space are mutually dependent so altering one would alter the other and we can use these two concepts to add 3D qualities to a design or create tension and that will keep the user engaged so let's take a look at some examples here and this first image is the perfect example of

positive negative relationship the positive space is the hand and the bottom of the light bulb and this play of the shape between the hand cupping to create a light bulb with a negative space makes the poster even more interesting and impactful for the user so in this case again the hand and the bottom of the light bulb are the positive element and the background would be the negative element on this next example we have a cover and here the type elements and the photo are the positive space and this is a good example again of

balance between positive and negative space the cover feels Airy the photo helps in it being 50 White and the dark elements are very few well there are elements that cover most of the page there is still a good balance between the two concepts and then we have this awesome poster example that it is also a great example of display of positive and negative space so the positive space is the image and the text the image has a very cool red blue treatment and then we have the text that is placed over the negative space so

in this case the negative space is the white space or the white background next up is space or negative space is the area that surrounds a shape and that creates a form so think of it as music and space would be the silence between the notes of a song If all the notes were played together then that would create noise so if you look at a design piece the negative space is the area that is not occupied by any elements and if we look at this first example the negative space is the black area so

while there is play between positive and negative space and minimalism uh this poster feels balanced there isn't an equal amount of positive and negative space but the relationship of the elements to the background make it more balanced in this relationship also creates a play with the element or the icon that is being shown in the image we can see a fork some bottles of wine and then we have the information at the top very top right so if this information was scattered around the black space or the negative space then it will create too much

noise so we're creating organization and a good composition a very minimalist composition by having just the information at the top right corner or this next example we have an abstract neon sign image and the black background is also the negative space so this is a good example of an Airy image we have a very busy neon design and that is contrasted by the margin around it and the black background so there's a good amount of margin no obstructions on the image and that makes it feel very airy and then if we want to create this

relationship to musical notes let's say the smaller the elements the higher the pitch of the sound and well the heavier at the element the lower the pitch so here we can see that Each corner contains a small element and the main image is right in the center while there are many elements on this design the negative space is used to add abundant lightness so if you look at a design piece the negative space is the area that is not occupied by any element so there is a lot of airiness there is a lot of um

Clarity within this design we can very easily spot where the information that we need is placed on and this again helps the user it it's all ultimately for the user that we're designing for so that is negative space and next we have color color we can apply Color to any of the elements that we have talked about before this point and color can add emphasis and mood to a specific design it also depends on the connotation that the specific color is associated with so there are different characteristics with color let's start with hue is the

name of a color in its periods form so there is no white or black or gray added to it so for instance cyan magenta in green are pure colors next up we have shade and shade is the addition of black to a hue in order to make a darker version of it so in this example we can see that the blue has different shades from its normal Hue to darker areas and this can also add a lot of depth next we have tint and tint is the addition of white to a color to make a

lighter version of it so in this example we can see that the purple has some white added in some parts and the combination of the tint on the heel gives this abstract shape more Dimension and more depth next we have tone and tone is the addition of gray to make a color a little bit more muted these colors tend to look a little bit muddy sometimes or dirty so this example features colors that have gray in them therefore not looking bright or too light or too dark instead it looks just muted next we have saturation

and saturation refers to the purity of a color so a specific color is most intense when it is not mixed and with white or black and on this example we can see a mix of mostly saturated colors and a few desaturated areas like here where there is an illusion of a shadow so that creates more depth in design there are two color systems we have RGB and CMYK RGB is the system dedicated to digital design so this additive system stands for red green and blue the colors are produced by adding primary colors together to create

various combinations so this mode should be used for designs that will only be used on screens if you want to Output Your Design as a printed piece then you have to work with CMYK and it is a very very important that when you create a new file be in InDesign or photoshop or illustrator that you set the right color space right from the get-go otherwise if you try to let's say convert CMYK to RGB or the other way around it usually happens the colors can look muted so CMYK stands for cyan magenta yellow and black

black is the k for key and that's it for color next we have value value refers to the darkness or lightness of a specific Hue so for instance yellow has a lighter value compared to purple because purple is a darker color so if we were to transform these two colors into black and white or gray yellow tends to be lighter and purple is darker value in a design piece at contrast and depth so let's take a look at some examples here on this first example we can see a mix of light in dark colors so

this is a contrasting values and it is I'm using different tonal values can create again contrast but also the illusion of movement by overlapping multiple elements with different values so again if we turn this image into grayscale we can see a high contrast between light and dark on this particular example if we switch the image again into black and white we can see that the value of the orange and the blue are the same so while these two colors are contrasting um the values avoid making them as contrasting as they could be so that's a

reason why the design can look flat sometimes we can also see that there's gradation here and here and that means that there is high value between this and this and that creates an illusion of movement by overlapping multiple elements with different values in photography a high value image is Airy and light and this image is taken with lots of light and if turned into black and white it will be mostly light compared to this other image that is mostly dark values making the image more dramatic and heavy so next up let's take a look at

texture texture adds a tactile appearance to a design the goal here is to add depth to a 2d surface so texture can be applied graphically through the use of patterns or either digitally created texture that mimics real life or they can be also used as actually embossing a let's say a design like a business card or using a textural paper as examples here we have a half tone image that resembles old scenes pop art or even old newspapers and depending on the size of the half tone and concentration it is possible to create Shadow and

Light so while the texture is 2D it can add a three-dimensional quality to the image because of the different sizes of the dots next up we have this chalk texture and this is highly texturized it can be used to enhance the design by giving hints of a specific concept for the artwork so for instance we can use this type of texture on a school poster Elementary School poster more specifically it will really help bring it up to life even if the actual texture is not existing when you touch it but at least it is there

visually textures can also be physical so like we mentioned embossing a business card or a paper using different papers that have texture that can really Elevate the design for your end user it can look like it's high quality it is more memorable and when it is well done it can also look very expensive and special so it is a nice touch for the user and now let's take a look at the conclusion for this course in this course I show you the basic elements of design understanding these building blocks will help you create successful design

pieces we looked at how line can add Direction the different shape classifications the relationship between form and space or positive and negative space color characteristics value contrasts and texture benefits as a professional working designer you will need to know how to describe your design piece to your clients and training your eyes can help you grow as a designer and also achieve a higher level of design sensibility if you're looking for Creative templates be sure to check out envato elements it is a great resource with photographs fonts graphic templates and many more assets if you're new

to design be sure to check out our courses and videos on our Channel my name is Laura kyung and from all of us at envato types Plus thank you for watching and we'll see you on the next one [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music]