Shape, Emphasis and Heirarchy

Shape
A flat enclosed area that is created by:

• Enclosing an area with a continuous line
• Surrounding an area with other shapes
• Filling an area with solid color or texture
• Filling an area with broken color or texture
  

Types of Shape

• Positive and negative space figure-ground (see last lecturer from last week)

•  Rectilinear (straight lines and angles) and Curvilinear (curves, flowing edges)

• Geometric (hard, precise edges, mathematical in their structure) and Organic (commonly found in nature--leaf, plant, water, etc.)

  Degrees of Representation

• Non-objective Shapes - circles, rectangles, squares  "Pure forms"

• Representational Shapes - Derived from specific subject matter and strongly based on direct observation

• Abstract Shapes - Derived from visual reality,  but are distilled and transformed from the  resemblance of their original source.

Degrees of Definition
Definition is the degree to which a shape is distinguished from both the background and the positive shapes within the design.

• High Definition - Creates a strong contrast between shape and background. Increased clarity and immediacy of communication

• Low Definition - Soft-edged shapes, gradations, transparencies, etc. Increase complexity and encourages multiple interpretations
  

Emphasis
Emphasis gives prominence to a specific area or part of a design. A focal point is a compositional devise that is used to create emphasis.
 

Emphasis by Isolation
An anomaly is a break from the norm.  Since we tend to connect verbal and visual information to make meaning, an object that breaks from the group tends to attract our attention. 


Emphasis by Placement
Since every part of a composition has a distinctive power, placement alone can increase the emphasis of an object. 


Emphasis Through Contrast
Contrast is created when two or more forces operate in opposition. When using the 80/20 rule, contrast can be very effective. The larger force sets the standard and the smaller force creates the exception. Depending on how a composition is structured, the smaller force can have the emphasis.
When creating a composition, consider the following to create emphasis:

• Contrast in Scale
• Contrast in Shape
• Contrast in Color

Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an organization of items into different levels of relative importance. Through basic design principles you emphasize one element over another so more important content looks more important.  


Visual hierarchy makes clear the primary, secondary, and supporting elements on the page.
These levels are also called Dominant, Sub-dominant, and Subordinate.