Any logo, greeting card, photo collage, newsletter, or book cover that might be created using desktop publishing techniques is composed of a combination of specific elements. They are the individual building blocks that all come together to make what we instantly recognize as the About logo with its red ball, the cover of PC World magazine, or our own face rendered as a caricature.
People go to college and take hours and hours of classes to learn all about the elements of design and how to use them but you’re going to get a crash course introduction in today’s daily dose – without stepping foot in a classroom.
Class Notes: This is not simply a word-a-day course. The lessons follow a specific order in roughly the following groupings: General concepts > Things you need > Font specifics > Image specifics > Prepress & Printing > Rules & Tutorials (bold indicates the stage in which this lesson falls)
Today’s Definition
Elements of Design
Can you draw a straight (or crooked) line, pick a color from a box of crayons, or put a square peg into a round hole?
Today’s Trivia
Digital Elements of Design
Much like molecules are made up of atoms which in turn are made up of even smaller components, the elements of design can be further broken down into more basic bits – a drop of ink, a dot made with the tip of a pencil. In desktop publishing one of the tiniest elements is a pixel – short for picture element. A pixel is the digital equivalent of a drop of ink or that pencil dot. It’s the smallest element that makes up what you see on your computer screen. Learn more…
