Design Element: Shape (page 1)

 

Groups of lines and blocks of text combine to become shapes. Determining line and text use, as individual elements, supports the design concept. The shapes lines and text create add an additional level of visual support. In other words, how you determine line form and placement conveys meaning at a micro level; how you deliver shapes created from line and text conveys meaning at a macro level. In the design process think of both singular elements and the shapes they create. This approach to design, with its continued link back to keyword adjectives, plays a significant role in transitioning to layout.

 

Shapes appear to have height and weight. They may form a picture or simply suggest something familiar. Try to stay away from cliche's, let the shapes and their parts communicate your story. Simple shapes often create good layouts that don't look stale within a few months.

 

These shapes, made from simple curve and line combinations, can transition to a theme for:

 

• bubbles, candy, and toy store, or
• a bulletin board with stick pins, added color in the pinheads, or
• a martini olive collection

 

• a cabinetmaker, or
• a hardware store, or
• a heavy metal band?

 

Shapes can resemble something familiar, if not an exact replica. Remember navigation and content add support to your concept. Play with the idea that each piece supports the whole rather than each piece needs to scream your theme.

 

• a bird shop, or
• a fencing company, or
• a racetrack, or
• a railroad company

 

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Written by Kelly Carey. © great25.com.