REFERENCE GUIDE
Elements & Principles
of Art & Design
A compact reference guide to the vocabulary and relationships of visual language.
The nine Elements and nine Principles explored throughout this free site come together in a 30-page, full-color visual reference designed for repeated use.
A REFERENCE TO KEEP NEARBY
Look closer, then return to the work.
Visual language becomes easier to understand when ideas can be compared side by side. The guide brings together definitions, original instructional diagrams, visual examples, selected artworks, and quick-reference pages.
Keep it nearby while drawing, designing, teaching, studying an artwork, or trying to understand why a composition works the way it does.
INSIDE THE GUIDE
Eighteen ideas. One working vocabulary.
Elements
Point · Line · Shape · Form · Value · Texture · Color · Space · Typography
Principles
Balance · Contrast · Emphasis · Movement · Pattern · Proportion & Scale · Rhythm · Unity & Harmony · Variety
A guide to reading a composition and quick-reference pages bring the concepts together.
CHOOSE AN EDITION
A portable reference for looking and making.
Digital edition · $14.95
The full lessons and interactive studies remain free on this site.
Look first. Name what you see. Then look again.