Principles and Elements of

Design
Applied to Architecture
 Design Requirements

• The challenge of architectural design lies

in the task of resolving a wide variety of
functional and aesthetic requirements (the
problem) into a coherent, satisfying
structure (the solution).
• Design is a plan for arranging elements in
such a way as to best accomplish a
particular purpose.
 Process of Design

• Definition of the project

• Analysis of the possibilities
• Definition of the specific problem
• Examination of the alternatives
• Selection of characteristics
• Production of the solution
• Clarifications/revisions to provide a final
result.
 Visual Design Elements
Design elements are those which can be
defined as specific "parts" of a design
solution.
Eight integral components used in the
creation of a design:

Line Space

Color Texture

Form and Shape Value

Material Mass
 Line
A point extended become a line. Conceptually line has
length but no width and depth.

Lines define the shape, form and volume of a design

solution. They also create a sense of the rhythm and flow
within a solution.
 Types of Line
Types
Vertical – Represents dignity, formality, stability, and
strength
Horizontal – Represents calm, peace, and relaxation
Diagonal – Represents action, activity, excitement, and
movement
Curved – Represents freedom, the natural, having the
appearance of softness, and creates a soothing feeling
or mood
 Vertical Lines

Skyscraper
Microsoft Office clipart
Madrid, Spain
The Empire State Brandenburg Gate
Building Berlin
Architect: Shreve, Lamb,
and Harmon
Horizontal Lines

Community Christian Church

Kansas City,
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright, 1940
 Diagonal Lines

©iStockphoto.com
Curved Lines

Sydney Opera House

Jorn Utzon
 Interpretation of Line
The orientation or direction of line can affect
its role in a visual construction. e.g. a
vertical line can express a state of
equilibrium with forces of gravity, or the
human condition, or mark a position in
space, a horizontal line can represent
stability, the ground plane, or a body at rest.
Supermarket- Ben Shahn

• Look at this painting by Ben

Shahn. What role do the lines
play in this piece? Shahn drew
these lines to define his
subject. Because of the lines
he made, we can see
recognizable images. Look at
the drawing. Look at the title.
Can you tell what Shahn has
drawn? He uses various line
directions to draw his shopping
carts. The lines are vertical,
horizontal and diagonal.
Needle Tower – Kenneth
Snelson
• This is a view of the Needle Tower
looking directly up to the top from the
ground. Notice the effect the lines create
with the pipes and the wires. It creates a
spiral. If you look closely, you may even
see a six pointed star. Do you think the
artist did this intentionally?

Sculptor Kenneth Snelson's "Needle

Tower" is a fragile-looking thing.
Crisscrossing rods suspended by taut
wires soar scarily upward 20 meters high.
Surely it ought to crumble or fall over. Yet
it doesn't. When the wind blows, the
Needle Tower bends, not breaks. The
tower is lightweight, strong and curiously
beautiful.
• It balances compression with tension,
and yields to forces without breaking. In
the Needle Tower, the wires carry tension
and the rods bear compression
Self Portrait- Kathe Kollwitz

• Look at this stirring portrait. This is a self-

portrait of the German artist Kathe
Kollwitz. To learn of her art, you must first
learn about her life. She experienced WW
I married to a doctor. She lost her son in
that war. She later lost her grandson in
WW II. She saw the pain and suffering of
the mothers, wives and children of the
people lost in the war.
• Look again at this work. Do you view it
differently?
• Notice the lines carved into this woodcut
proof to create the texture of this print.
The direction of the lines follow the
contour of her face. What impact do the
lines have on the overall quality of this
print?
 Value
Value is defined as the relative lightness or
darkness of a color. It is an important tool for
the designer/artist, in the way that it defines
form and creates spatial illusions.

Methods
Shade – Degree of darkness of a color
Tint – A pale or faint variation of a color
Contrast of value separates objects
in space, while gradation of value
suggests mass and contour of a
contiguous surface. In the drawing on
the right, value contrast separates
the plant from the background, and
the separate leaves from one
another, while gradation suggests the
curves of leave surfaces and of the
whole form.
Value creates depth within a
design making an object look
three dimensional (3D) with
highlights and cast shadows.
Value creates depth within a
design making an object look
three dimensional (3D) with
highlights and cast shadows.
 Value
©iStockphoto.com

Downtown buildings in Bangalore, India

When contrasting hues are made similar in
value, the spatial effects are flattened out.
In the color image of the fashion model the coat
draws our attention through contrast of hue
although the skin tones blend with the
background(remember the object of the image is
to sell the coat, not the model). However, it also
seems to be softly blending with a background
that seems quite close, and is very similar to the
coat in value. The face tends to blend with the
background which is similar in both hue and
value. In the black and white version, however,
the coat virtually disappears, since only value,
not hue, are available to distinguish it, and the
values are quite similar. However, the strong
value contrast of the eyes and hat draw our
attention to the face, even though the contours of
the face seem to melt into the background.
Therefore the black and white version
emphasizes the model more than the garment.
Refers to the light and dark areas of an art work
Refers to the light and dark areas of an art work
THE MILKMAID
(De Melkmeid )
c. 1658-1661
oil on canvas
17 7/8 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm.)
The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
 Color
• Color is an aspect of architectural design
which provides a wide array of potential
affects. Color may be used strategically to
provide emphasis to the character of a
building or component, it may be used to
accentuate form and materials or it may
be used to separate and define distinct
divisions of an overall scheme.
• Color may also be used to convey the
intended spirit of a design.
 Color
Color has an
immediate and
profound effect on a
design.
©iStockphoto.com

Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Moscow
Some of the effects of color occur
only in the eye and brain of the
viewer, and are not physical
properties of light waves or
pigment. These illusions, however,
In order to achieve over-all unity,
are very powerful, and have
enormous impact on our and/or create emphasis, one should
responses to color. make a clear decision as to which
colors should be assigned the largest
and least areas. The color proportion
choice will also affect the impact of the
color composition.
 Color
©iStockphoto.com

Warm Colors
Reds, oranges, yellows

©iStockphoto.com

Cool Colors
Blues, purples, greens
 Color

Colors can affect how humans feel and act

 Color
• Color - refers to specific hues
and has 3 properties, Chroma,
Intensity and value. The color
wheel is a way of showing the
chromatic scale in a circle using
all the colors made with the
primary triad.
• Complimentary pairs can
produce dull and neutral
color. Black and white can be
added to produce tints (add
white), shades (add black) and
tones (add gray).
Psychological Implications of
Color
Market researchers have done extensive studies
exploring the emotional responses of people to color.

Some of these responses seem to be powerful and fairly

universal. However, much of this information is culturally
biased.

We know that cultural traditions endow colors with

powerful meanings that can differ greatly from place to
place.
 Psychological Implications of
Color
For example, in Europe and the United States, black is the
color of mourning. In many tropical countries and in East Asia
white is the color of death.

On the other hand, white is the color worn by American brides,

while brides in much of Asia wear red.
Your Perception about Color

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
White
 Red
Red is associated with blood, and with feelings that are
energetic, exciting, passionate . Most colors carry both
positive and negative implications. The downside of red
evokes aggressive feelings, suggesting anger or violence.
 Orange
Orange is the color of flesh, or the friendly warmth of the
hearth fire. The positive implications of this color suggest
approachability, informality. The negative side might imply
accessibility to the point of suggesting that anyone can
approach-- a lack of discrimination or quality.
At the same time, orange is also stimulating to the
appetite. If you love having people around the kitchen
table, orange will keep them talking and eating for a long
time.
 Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine. This color is optimistic and
modern. The energy of yellow can become overwhelming.
Therefore yellow is not a color that tends to dominate
fashion for long periods of time.
 Green
In its positive mode, green suggests nature (plant life,
forests), life, stability, restfulness, naturalness. On the
other hand, green in some tones or certain contexts (such
as green skin) might instead suggest decay (fungus,
mold), toxicity, artificiality.
 Blue
Blue suggests coolness (water), distance, spirituality, or
perhaps reserved elegance . Some shade of blue is
flattering to almost anyone. In its negative mode, we can
think of the "blues"-the implication being one of sadness,
passivity, alienation, or depression.
 Value (lightness) describes overall intensity to how
light or dark a color. It is the only dimension of color
that may exist by itself.
(Example: A black and white photograph is a one-
dimensional rendition of a three dimensional object)

Chroma (saturation) may be defined as the strength

or dominance of the hue.

Hue is described with the words we normally think of

as describing color: red, purple, blue, etc. It is also a
term which describes a dimension of color we readily
experience when we look at color.
 Secondary Colors
• Combining any two of the
primary colors produces a
secondary color. The
secondary colors are violet,
green, and orange. Mixing red
with blue makes violet. Blue
mixed with yellow creates
green. Mix yellow with red to
get orange.
• red + blue = violet
• blue + yellow = green
• yellow + red = orange
 Interpretation
• Colour is not, however, the solution to bad
design. A paint job is merely the
application of product, not a remedy to
aesthetic failure. The use of colour is one
of the most appealing design elements, to
enhance the product, not resolve it.
 Interpretation

• The majority of natural building materials

possess their own distinct colors.
• Materials fabricated for use in construction
(drywall, ceiling tiles, etc) are devoid of
natural color thereby requiring the addition
of pigmentation either during fabrication or
post installation.
Color Example 2

• Notice the color scheme in this

painting.
Do you recall which color family the
artist
used?

This is a monochromatic color

painting
which means the artist used one
true
color and added black and white to
create
tints and shades of that color.

How does a monochromatic color

scheme affect the overall "mood" of
this piece?
• Building
overall color is
natural
material color.
While yellow
added to
make it
prominent
Sugamo Shinkin Bank by
Emmanuelle Moureaux
Architecture Design