Critiquing Tools

BASIC ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Line;is a mark on a surface that describes a shape or outline

Colour;refers to specific hues and has 3 properties, Chroma, Intensity and Value.  The color wheel is a way of showing the chromatic scale in a circle using all the colors made with the primary triad.  Complimentary pairs can produce dull and neutral color.  Black and white can be added to produce tints (add white), shades (add black) and tones (add gray).

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.

Shape;is a 2-dimensional line with no form or thickness. Shapes are flat and can be grouped into two categories, geometric and organic.

Form;is a 3-dimensional object having volume and thickness. It is the illusion of a 3-D effect that can be implied with the use of light and shading techniques.  Form can be viewed from many angles.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Stability; is what gives a design balance and equilibrium. It distributes visual “weight” throughout space making the design seem fluid rather than lopsided or heavy. The balance of a design can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Dynamics;Dynamics is the arrangement of visual elements in a composition to suggest the illusion of movement or direction. The effective use of dynamics in a design can add an emotive characteristic to your design making it appear restful and calming or active and energetic.

Rhythm; is the design principle that bring everything together. By repeating a visual image rhythm imparts a sense of organization that brings a graphic together. This means that everything on the page is visually joined to something else thus giving the work a feeling of wholeness or “oneness”.

Scale; Scale is the size of an object compared to other objects in a piece.

ART VOCABULARY LIST

Proportion; the size of  part of an object compared to the rest of the object.

Negative Space; the space around and between the subject(s) of an image

Mood; the emotional state created by a design

Flowing;  Steady and continuous movement

Jazzy; Showy and/or flashy

ADJECTIVE LIST

Controlled (Line); Restrained and specific 

Chiaroscuro (Colour); The artistic distribution of light and dark masses in a picture

Organic (Shape/Form); Relating to, or derived from living organism e.g. random/sporadic

Geometric (Shape/Form); Composed predominantly of simple geometric forms, such as circles, rectangles, triangles,straight lines etc.

Gooey Texture; Soft and sticky

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/Files/elements2.htm

http://www.adigitaldreamer.com/articles/graphic-design-principles.htm

http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/tutorials/design/design/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3224103/Principles-of-Design

http://www.thefreedictionary.com