Design Elements, 2nd Edition

(F39)_Job:12-40337 Title:RP-Design Elements 2nd Edition

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TEXT

form and space

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SEEING FORM AND SPACE

People often overlook the potential of abstract form—or, for

that matter, the abstract visual qualities of images such as

photographs. This form study uses paper to investigate that

very idea in a highly abstract way. What could this be? Who

cares? It’s about curl in relation to angle, negative space to

positive strip. To understand how form works, the form must

first be seen.

JROSS DESIGN UNITED STATES

In this business card, the very

basic form of dots, ordered as

lines that become letterforms,

become a dramatically simple

and extremely clever symbolic

gesture that communicates

the identity of the cardholder’s

business.

PARALLAX AUSTRALIA

The idea of formal beauty is

—

highly subjective. Both these

images can be considered

beautiful, despite the fact that

one is sensuous and “clean”

and that the other is aggressive

and “dirty.”

First Things First All graphic design

—

all image making, regardless of medium or

intent

—

centers on manipulating form.

It’s a question of making stuff to look at

and organizing it so that it looks good and

helps people understand not just what

they’re seeing, but what seeing it means for

them. “Form” is that stuff: shapes, lines,

textures, words, and pictures. The form

that is chosen or made, for whatever

purpose, should be considered as care-

fully as possible, because every form, no

matter how abstract or seemingly simple,

carries meaning. Our brains use the forms

of things to identify them; the form is a

message. When we see a circle, for ex-

ample, our minds try to identify it: Sun?

Moon? Earth? Coin? Pearl? No one form

is any better at communicating than any

other, but the choice of form is critical if

it’s to communicate the right message. In

addition, making that form as beautiful as

possible is what elevates designing above

just plopping stuff in front of an audience

and letting them pick through it, like hy-

enas mulling over a dismembered carcass.

The term “beautiful” has a host of mean-

ings, depending on context; here, we’re not

talking about beauty to mean “pretty” or

“serene and delicate” or even “sensuous”

in an academic, Beaux-Arts, home-fur-

nishings-catalog way. Aggressive, ripped,

collaged illustrations are beautiful; chunky

Form is stuff—including all kinds

of imagery and type.

(F39)_Job:12-40337 Title:RP-Design Elements 2nd Edition

01-AC70319 #175 Dtp:160 Page:28

026-085_C70319.indd 28 1/14/14 4:58 PM

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