Tech Journal: "Design Elements" Chapter 1 Review Paper (1 of 2)

For my design development class I read Chapter 1 of "Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual" by Timothy Samara and wrote a paper and did a group presentation on the first part of the chapter. The first part of my paper and my part of the presentation follow.

Form and Space

The author of the book begins by describing graphic design, in its simplest form, as creating something nice to look at. He goes on to say that in order for it to be efficient design, though, it must be beautiful in a sense, well organized and not only help people understand what they’re looking at, but also help them feel and understand what it means to them on a deeper, emotional level.  This is achieved by thoughtful selection, use and arrangement of form and space. 

Form is described by the author as the “stuff: shapes, lines, textures, words and pictures.” It is what makes up the design and it should be chosen carefully and with reason. This is because our brains are hard wired to associate specific shapes, patterns, and layouts, no matter how abstract, with both physical objects as well as emotional feelings. The author uses the example of a circle. When we see the form, our brains relate it to the physical form the sun, moon, earth, a coin pearl, etc. 

It is also the duty of the graphic designer to ensure that the forms in a design are not only picked with purpose, but also that they are presented beautifully. The author says that “beautiful” is not used in the traditional sense, but more in a “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” way, as aggressive, torn and chunky can also be viewed as beautiful. He goes on to say that “resolved” or “decisive” could perhaps serve as synonyms for beautiful when talking about design. This means that if all of the designs parts are related to each other with no one part feeling “alienated” and if the design form feels “confident, credible and on purpose” and all of the individual forms work together as a whole, the design is beautiful.

Form, however, cannot exist on its own. It needs somewhere to reside. This “somewhere” is called space. The physical embodiment of space in graphic design is really just the size and shape of the finished project — a business card, poster, magazine spread, Web page, television screen, etc. 

Source: "Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual" by Timothy Samara