ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THEORY

SEMESTER I LECTURE 5

This lecture will cover:

Space in 2-D compositions Direction in visual design Texture

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

This series of lectures is covering the elements of visual design and while these are primarily limited to dot, line, shape, color and texture, there are other aspects that are often considered as elements of visual design. Space and direction are seen as some of these by design philosophers.

Elements of visual design

ADT I 2006 Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE 3

Space

Space has to be included in any visual design. In 2-dimensional arrangements space means leaving some blank areas in a composition. A human eye needs space to feel comfortable, and space will let the eye distinguish the part that's meant to be noticed compared to just the background. Sometimes not including space in a visual design is acceptable, but care has to be taken to ascertain that the final visual effect is not over crowded and chaotic.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

Space
Space gives depth and dimension and is in front of or behind objects, around them, or projecting from them. Space adds interest, excitement, and contrast to a visual design. Any shape that overlaps another seems to be in front of it and warm colors seem to be in front of cool ones in the total space of the composition. Anything which adds depth or the appearance of depth will enhance the display.

ADT I 2006 Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE 5

DIRECTION

Compositions can have direction - Horizontal, Vertical or Oblique. Horizontal suggests calmness, stability and tranquility. Vertical gives a feeling of balance, formality and alertness. Oblique suggests movement and action. The composition could be centered and still too.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

Directional Movement
Directional Movement - is a visual flow through the composition. It can be the suggestion in a visual design as the eye moves from object to object by way of placement and position. Directional movement can be created with the placement and size of shapes used in a composition. It is also with the placement of dark and light areas that attention can be moved through a composition.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

Note the different suggested directions in the four compositions

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Texture - is about surface quality either tactile or visual. Texture can be real or implied by different uses of media. It is the degree of roughness or smoothness in objects. Texture is the surface quality of a shape rough, smooth, soft hard glossy etc. Texture can be physical (tactile) or visual.

Texture
ADT I 2006 Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE 9

Texture

Texture is a surface quality. It relates to the appearance of a surface. Appearance can be perceived by either the eyes or touch. Surfaces can look or feel smooth, rough, soft, cool, or warm. They can look pleasant or unpleasant, which can have a dramatic effect on a display.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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Texture

Texture and color

Textures in everyday life

Artistic Texture

Mechanical Texture
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Textures range from the smoothest polished mirror to the roughest sandpaper like surface. The term is often misused to refer only to rough surfaces but this is not correct. All surfaces have texture. A designer recognizes that different textures can affect interest in different ways. Some surfaces are inviting and some are repellent and reaction is normally created by texture or color. Using different textures can increase interest in a composition by adding variety without changing color.

Texture
ADT I 2006 Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE 12

Texture refers to the quality of a surface. Everything that has a surface has texture. There are two kinds of texture: Tactile touch 3D texture Visual illusion 2D texture

Texture
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TACTILE TEXTURE Tactile means touch. Tactile texture is the actual (3D) feel of a surface. This is of paramount importance to threedimensional design but of can also be a factor of generating interest in twodimensional design. The actual surface texture needs to either be felt, or seen with light raking across its surface to make the texture visible.

Texture
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VISUAL TEXTURE Visual texture refers to the illusion of the surface's texture. It is what a surface looks like. The textures seen in a photograph are visual textures. No matter how rough objects in the photograph look, the surface of the photograph is smooth and flat.

Texture
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Visual texture is always a factor in a composition because everything has a surface and hence a texture. Plain paper has a boring texture that is only slightly different from the note book's paper. Some other colored papers are more visually interesting. This is because of their color, but also their texture. Look around to see what interestingly textures (both visual and tactile) can be seen.

ADT I 2006 Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE 16

Texture

Here are some examples of texture compositions made by students

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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Texture

Enjoy the visual textures depicted by these pictures

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Texture

And these pictures show varied textures

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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Texture

Here are some more visual texture varieties

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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Texture

And these images show other possibilities of visual textures

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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PATTERN

Patterns also create textures A recognizable motif regularly repeated produces a pattern. Pattern requires repetition -- in design as in life (a pattern of behavior). The more regular the repetition, the stronger the pattern. Compare this field of flowers with a checkerboard. Both have a repeating motif. All of the motifs in a pattern have surfaces, so there is always texture. But there is not always pattern -- only when you notice it. Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE ADT I 2006 Prof 22

Texture and Pattern

Texture and pattern are related. When you look closely at a tree you can see the pattern of leaves that make its surface. When you back away you loose awareness of the leaves and notice the texture the leaves make on the tree. Farther away still and you can see the pattern of the trees making up the forest and finally the texture of the forest. In this way pattern changes to texture as you loose sight of the individual motifs. This is easy to do with natural patterns, but you have to get quite far away from a checker board grid to see it as texture.
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Patterns are generally more noticeable than textures. This makes them a stronger visual element for controlling attention.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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By now you would be reasonably well acquainted with textures, space (2-D) and direction in visual design.

ADT I 2006

Prof Anil Kumar, DOA, CRSCE

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The End
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