Design Fundamentals

1
Design Fundamentals

• Material taken from Design Fundamentals for the
  Digital Age by Holtzschue and Noriega

2
Fundamentals

• Design Fundamentals - observations about visual
  experiences
• Size
• Proportion
• Color

3
Medium

• Medium - a material or substance used to produce
  a work of art
• Paint, clay
• Our medium electronic media. Creating images
  with light alone.

4
The Monitor

• The ability to display information is measured in
  2 ways
• Resolution pixels.
• Bit-Depth

5
Pixel

• is the smallest unit of a monitors screen
  display. The size of a pixel is measured in dpi
  Dots Per Inch. The more dots(pixels) per inch,
  the more detail that can be displayed higher
  resolution

6
Design Software

• Software that allows us to make images. 2 types
• Pixel-based Adobe photoshop, paint pad
• Vector-basedAdobe Illustrator, macromedia Flash

7
Pixel-Based (raster image)

• Use a standard resolution (say 72 dpi)so what
  you see is what you get
• Does not enlarge (zoom) well
• As the size of each pixel increases, the number
  of dpi decreases. Causes Jaggies aliasing.

8
Vector-Based

• Images are generated by a mathematically plotted
  series of points. Appear on screen as lines and
  planes.
• Very fast.
• Images can be enlarged without losing the
  sharpness of the image because they are not
  controlled by the size of the pixel

9
Gestalt psychology

• Suggests that pattern and recognition are
  essentially inseparable in form perception.
• This theory attempts to explain why it is
  possible to understand and identify forms even
  when they are partial, fractured, fragmented
  images

10
Point

• A place where a composition begins. Indicates
  position alone.
• Focal Point is the location of emphasis in a
  composition

11
Negative space

• the area of a composition that is empty. Areas
  that are unfilled by forms and images

12
Equilibrium

• elements of a composition are in visual balance.
  
• Established in two ways directly through
  symmetry, and indirectly through balance.

13
Equilibrium

• Symmetry reflection
• Balance occurs when unlike components of
  similar visual strength are arranged to create a
  sense of equilibrium

14
Static and Dynamic compositions

• Static visually unmoving
• lines and forms of the composition suggest
  movement