Two-Dimensional Design

Design grows out of a need for meaningful order in our lives. In art, as well as nature, our perception and understanding of order relies on the ability to perceive qualities and relationships that extend beyond the mere sum of a group of parts. The word design indicates both the process of organizing elements, as well as the products of that process. Through clearly defined problems and laboratory exercises, this course will examine the principles, strategies, and applications essential to an understanding of visual order within any two-dimensional framework. The course will concentrate on structures, concepts, and relationships common to an understanding of, and control over, visual vocabulary. Line and form, texture and pattern, space and continuity, presentation and format, repetition and rhythm, color and context, composition and gestalt, unity and variety are some of the issues to be explored.