Graphic Design Fundamentals: Points, Lines, and Planes

Building blocks of design

Point, line, and plane

Diagrams

Build relationships among elements using points, lines, and planes to map and connect data

Textures and patterns

Constructed from large groups of points and lines that repeat, rotate, and otherwise interact to form distinctive and engaging surfaces

Typography

Consists of individual letters (points) that form into lines and fields of text

Photography

From the 1800s, captures reflected light automatically and eliminated the intermediary mesh of point and line

Halftone process

From 1880s, converts a photograph into a pattern of larger and smaller dots simulating tonal variation with pure spots of black or flat color

Terms software uses to describe images

Point, line, plane shape, and volume as well as color, transparency, and other features

Forms a line

A series of points

Typography point

A period - the definitive end of a line

Lines appear at

The edges of objects and where two planes meet

A geometric line

Has length but no breadth

A line is a

A connection between two points

A line is an

An infinite series of points

A line is the path of a

moving point

A line can be a

positive mark or negative gap

Graphically, lines

exists in many weights

Determine a line's visual presence

The thickness, texture, and the path of the mark

Lines can be drawn with a

pen, pencil, brush, mouse, or digital code

Lines can be

Straight or curved, continuous or broken

Lines multiply to

Describe volumes, planes, and textures

Graph

A rising and falling line that describes change over time

A plane is

a flat surface extending in height and width

A plane is the path of

moving line

A plane is a line with

breadth

Shapes are

planes with edges

In vector-based software, every shape consists of

line and fill

A plane can be parallel to the picture or it can

skew and recede into space

Physical planes

Ceilings, walls, floors, and windows

A plane can be

solid, perforated, opaque, transparent, textured, or smooth

A field of text is a

plane built from points and lines of type

A typographic plane can be

dense, open, hard, or soft

A plane can be described with

lines or fields of color

Linear perspective simulates

optical distortions: large = near, far = small, horizon = nothing

The angle at which elements recede

reflects the position of the viewer

Axonometric projections

depict volume without making elements recede into space like consistent scale despite position in space.

Axonometric projections vs linear perspective

more abstract and impersonal

Uses of axonometric projections

Architects for scale consistency across the page and game devs for maps

Typographic alignment refers to

the organization of text into columns with a hard or soft edge.

A justified column is

Even along both sides

The crisp edge of a column is implied by

the even starting or ending points of successive type lines

Implied lines

When the eye connects two point the aren't drawn

Vector-based software defines a shape using

closed lines

Bézier curve

a line defined by a set of anchor and control points

Bézier curve first 2 parameters

specify the first anchor point

Bézier curve last 2 parameters

specify the other anchor points

Bézier curve middle 2 parameters

locate the control points that define the curve

Hard, closed typographic shape

Soft, open typographic shape