Elements and Principles of Design

1. Elements and Principles of Design HNC3CI – Mrs. Crowell

2. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN All designs, from simple to complex, come from only a few basic design elements.

3. Design Element: Colour Colour is often the first thing we notice when we look at a piece of clothing.

4. Design Element: Line • Designers use lines for different effects. • Straight linesare used to create crisp shapes. • Curved linesgive a feeling of movement. • ZigZag lines are used to create drama.

5. Design Element: Shape • There are four basic shapes in fashion design: • Natural – follows the outline of the body. • Tubular – rectangular with vertical emphasis. • Bell – both diagonal and horizontal lines. • Full – use of more horizontal and curved lines.

6. Design Element: Texture • The surface characteristics that determine the look and feel of an object. • Soft or Crisp,Smooth or Nubby,Dull or Shiny • Fabric texture results from the fiber, yarn, construction and finish used. • Texture determines how a fabric moves when worn.

7. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN • Artistic guidelines for using all of the design elements. • Fashion designers use these principles when designing their clothing.

8. Design Principle: Balance • A design has balance when the spaces on both sides of the central line, real or imagined, appear equal. • Balance is either: Symmetrical or Asymmetrical

9. Design Principle: Proportion • How separate parts of a garment relate to each other (also known as scale). • Parts with somewhat unequal sizes look best together. • Fashion design commonly relies on a 3-to-5 ratio.

10. Design Principle: Emphasis • The focal part of the design that draws the most attention is known as emphasis. • Emphasis can be accomplished with colour, line, texture, design details, trims, and accessories.

11. Design Principle: Rhythm • Rhythm carries the eye through a regular pattern produced by design elements. • Three ways to achieve rhythm in fashion: • Repetition: a pattern repeats in the garment • Radiation: lines or patterns flow from a central location • Gradation: a pattern changes gradually.

12. Design Principle: Harmony • A design has visual harmony when the design elements complement each other. • The elements relate in a unified way to convey a single theme. • When harmony exists, each part looks like it belongs.

13. Different Body Shapes & Frames There are four basic body shapes… • Apple, Pear, Hourglass, Rectangle

14. Application Activity • Refer to page 176 in the Clothing text. • Look through magazines and collect illustrations of clothes with different line types and directions. • Use a black marker to highlight the dominant lines in each garment. • Group the garments together to create small collections of similar lines.