Elements of Design

Line is straight or curved, heavy or light, soft or hard or a mixture of them all.
Characterize a shape by being the edge of an area or surface, colour, tone or pattern – it becomes an outline or contour.
Show movement, suggest rhythm, creates texture, indicates emotion.

Shape can be bordered by a Line.
Defined by colour, texture and tone.
Suggest movement or emotions, sharp and clear or hazy and suggesting something.

Colour is an element of design with endless variety.
Three primary colours, red, yellow and blue.
Three secondary colours, orange, green and purple.
Tertiary colours are a mix of the primary colours, forming many different colours.
Temperature (cool or warmth), intensity (strength and purity).
Hue (quality), tone value (degree of lightness or darkness).
Tints (white opacity), and shades (dark opacity).
Analogous colours, hues lying near each other on the colour wheel.
Complimentary colours, hues opposite each other on the colour wheel.
Discord colours, opposite colours are together and one is a tint.

Tone is lightness and darkness.
Light reveals, shows the world to us, and shadow gives meaning to the things we see.
Provides solidity, volume and weight, gives the impression of distance, gives emotion to an image, creates rhythm, with the eyes jumping from one dark tone to another.
It is the property of Colour.
The way it catches the light, so that sharp changes are made by deep corners, and gentle ones by smooth gradual changes.



Texture is the part of the surface that can be felt or seen.
Concerned with touch, how something feels (rough, smooth, spiky, soft, velvety, regular or irregular).
Suggest emotions by linking with the memory of how things feel.

Direction is about how our eyes move around the artwork (horizontal, vertical, curved, sloped or straight).
Suggest movement by the speed at which it is changed, shows balance (stability or imbalanced), gives tension, has emotional impact.

Size is about the bigness or smallness of an area.
Gives space, it can make closer objects appear larger and make distant objects appear smaller.
Given by comparing one element that is larger or smaller than the other, and make a particular element look important.



Mass is the amount of material in any sculptural work, painting or drawing.
Space or Void, refers to the lack of mass.



References
Source: http://www.canleyvale.hs.education.nsw.gov.au/Winning%20websites/art/eod.htm