Unit 1: Basic design elements
Elements of Design notes · PTU syllabus (BSTD 103-20)
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Unit summary
Design elements are the building blocks of every textile design. This unit studies texture, line, form, repeat, figure and ground, proportion and balance, and how each is observed in nature and used in the design process.
After this unit you can
- Identify and describe the basic elements of design
- Explain repeat, figure and ground in motif layouts
- Apply proportion and balance to a textile composition
- Relate natural forms to design development
PTU syllabus topics
- Texture
- line
- form and repeat
- figure and ground
- proportion
- balance — each studied in relation to nature and the design process
Line
Direction and movement
Form and shape
2D outline and 3D volume
Texture
How it feels or looks to feel
Colour
Hue, value, intensity
Space
Positive and negative areas
Topic 1
Texture and line
Texture is the surface quality of a material, seen and felt: rough, smooth, soft, glossy, matt. In textiles it comes from fibre, yarn, structure and finish. Visual texture is the illusion of texture created by pattern or print.
Actual (tactile)
Felt by touch: terry, corduroy, bouclé
Visual
Seen only: printed wood grain or leopard print
From fibre and yarn
Wool, silk, slub, textured yarn
From structure
Weave, knit, pile, embroidery
Line is a mark that joins two points and leads the eye. Lines carry feeling: vertical lines suggest height and dignity, horizontal lines rest and calm, diagonals movement and energy, curves grace and flow, zigzags excitement.
Garment lines also shape the figure: vertical stripes lengthen, horizontal stripes widen
Topic 2
Form, repeat, figure and ground
Form is the three-dimensional or two-dimensional shape of an object. Repeat means using the same motif again at regular intervals to create pattern, rhythm and unity.
- Block (straight) repeat
- Motif repeats directly across and down in a grid
- Half-drop repeat
- Each column is dropped by half the motif height
- Brick repeat
- Each row is shifted sideways by half the width
- Mirror repeat
- Motif is reflected to make symmetry
- Random (tossed) repeat
- Motifs placed in a scattered, non-aligned way
In a half-drop repeat every second column is lowered by half a motif, which hides the grid and gives a flowing pattern
Figure and ground: the figure is the main motif that attracts attention; the ground is the background. The relationship may be balanced, or reversed so that the ground becomes the figure (as in optical illusions).
Topic 3
Proportion and balance
Proportion is the pleasing relation of parts to one another and to the whole; a classical rule uses ratios close to 1 : 1.618 (the golden ratio). Balance is the sense of equal visual weight on either side of a centre.
Arrangement
Equal weight mirrored about a centre line
Unequal items arranged to feel equal
Feeling
Stable, dignified, traditional
Dynamic, casual, modern
Example
Mirror-image border
Large motif balanced by several small ones
Informal balance uses distance and number to equalise unequal weights
Key terms
- Texture
- Surface quality of a material
- Line
- Mark joining two points that leads the eye
- Motif
- Single unit of a design
- Repeat
- Regular recurrence of a motif
- Figure and ground
- Main motif and its background
- Proportion
- Relation of parts to the whole
- Balance
- Equal visual weight about a centre
Quick revision
- Elements: texture, line, form, repeat, figure and ground, proportion, balance.
- Repeats: block, half-drop, brick, mirror, random.
- Verticals lengthen; horizontals widen.
- Balance may be formal or informal.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.Define texture and give two examples.
- Q2.What is a half-drop repeat?
- Q3.Differentiate figure and ground.
- Q4.What is formal balance?
- Q5.State the effect of vertical lines.
- Q6.What is proportion?
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the elements of design with textile examples.
- Q2.Describe the types of repeat with sketches.
- Q3.Explain proportion and balance and their use in design.
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