Introduction to footwear design

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Design elements
3. Principles of design
 Elements & Principles of a Design
Introduction
Design elements are the basic units of any art work it can be painting, drawing, design or other
visual piece. Principles applied to the elements which bring them together into one design. How
one applies these principles to the element determines how successful a design may be. The
elements and principles are described below which will make your clear about it.
Design is usually a compromise between fashion trends and Manufacturing
restrictions”
The various activities required to take a design idea through to bulk production can be summarized as
Pre-Production. Individual actions will vary with the type of product and the manufacturing
philosophy of the company. For example, a factory that produces on made-to-order basis will usually
spend less time engineering, costing and planning its new range than a comparable company that
produces an in stock range.
Design Elements
The elements are components or parts which can be isolated and defined in any visual design or
work of art. They are the structure of the work, and can carry a wide variety of messages. The
details may be differentiated, but includes ‘point or mark’, ‘line’, ‘shape’, ‘forms’, ‘space’,
‘color’, and ‘texture’.
Elements of Designs:-
1. Point
2. Line
3. Shape/Form
4. Space
5. Texture
6. Color

1. POINT: A Point is an element that has position, but no extension. It is a single mark in space
with a precise, but limited, location.
Alone it can provide a powerful relation between negative & positive space, but when grouped
with other points the Gestalt grouping Principle of closure tends to kick in & the brain.
Point is a geometric element that has position but no extension; "a point is defined by its
coordinates”.
2. LINE: Line is an element which is characterized by length & direction. Lines create contours
and forms and are often used to convey a specific kind of felling or point to an important
feature in a design.
3. SHAPES/FORM: Shape pertains to the use of areas in two dimensional spaces that can be
defined by edges, setting one flat specific space apart from another. Shapes can be geometric
(e.g.: square, circle, triangle, hexagon, etc.) or organic (such as the shape of a puddle, blob,
leaf, boomerang, etc.) in nature. Shapes are defined by other elements of art: Space, Line,
Texture, Value, Color, and Form. Shapes are made by connecting lines. Circle, square,
triangle, and freeform are words used to identify shapes. Look at the objects around you and
describe their basic shapes. Are they one shape, or are they a combination of many shapes?
After doing this several times, you will begin to understand what shape really is. Line creates
two dimensional or flat shapes. When shapes are three dimensional, we call them forms.
SHAPES

FORMS
 A circle is a shape; a ball is a form. A square is a shape; a cube is a form. A drawing is a flat
shape; a sculpture is a three-dimensional form. Three basic shapes are: Circle, rectangle/
square & triangle. The term forms and shapes are often used synonymously, which is why
they are both included here. In reality, form is derived from the combination of Point, line &
shape.
4. COLOR: Color is the response of the eye to differing wavelengths of radiation with in the
visible spectrum.

Color is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red,
green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power
versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors.
Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials,
light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or
emission spectra. By defining a color space, colors can be identified numerically by their
coordinates.
 Color Wheel Relationships between colors are described by the color wheel. Used by artists
of various expertise’s, the color wheel introduces primary, secondary and tertiary colors as
well as color complements. The primary colors are red, blue and yellow, and cannot be
created by mixing other elements. However, any two primary colors mixed together will
yield a secondary color - orange, green or purple. Tertiary colors are created by mixing a
secondary color with a primary color. For example, yellow-green is made by mixing the
secondary color green with the primary color, yellow.

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Color Complements are color opposites and contract each other, creating a vibrant, active color
palette. They are located on opposite sides of the color wheel from each. An example of a pair of
complementary colors is purple and yellow.
Primary Colors Red (carmine), yellow and blue (phthalocyanine) from
which all other colors may be mixed.
Secondary Colors Orange, green and purple, made by mixing adjacent
primary colors on the color wheel.
Tertiary Colors Colors located between primary and secondary colors on
the color wheel, created by mixing any adjacent primary
and secondary color.
Hue The clearest form of any color, without the addition of
black, white or its complement.
Chroma The intensity, strength or saturation of a color. The
intensity of a hue can be reduced by its complementary.
For instance, the intensity of green can be reduced by
adding red -- the eventual result being a neutral gray.
Value The lightness or darkness of a color, e.g. light or dark
blue.
Shade A color darkened by adding black.
Tint A color lightened by adding white.
Complementary Color Colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Mixing
complementary colors will produce gray.
Monochromatic A color scheme using values of only one color. Sepia
(reddish-brown) is a common choice in illustration.
Analogous A scheme using two or three adjacent colors on the color
wheel. Example: yellow, yellow-green, green or blue,
purple, violet. This scheme is equally useful in creating
a simple palette for an illustration or a garden design.
Warm colors Generally thought of as yellow, orange and red, which
seem to advance toward the viewer? However this
distinction may also be made of blues and greens.
 Example: ultramarine blue is 'warmer' than cobalt blue.
Willow green is 'warmer' than sage and Cadmium red is
'warmer' than carmine.
Cool Colors Generally, blues, greens and violets, which appear to
recede.

Examples

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5. TEXTURE: Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Texture can be rough or
smooth, soft or hard. Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of
artwork. Techniques used in painting serve to show texture, i.e. the dry brush technique
produces a rough simulated quality and heavy application of pigment with brush or other
implement produces a rough actual quality.

 Texture is the surface quality of an item. It’s how something feels when touched, or looks
like it would feel if touched. Sandpaper is rough. Velvet is smooth. A drawing of a tree
stump could show rough outer bark and a smooth inner surface. Search for ways to add
texture to your projects. Texture adds variety and interest.

6. SPACE: Actual space is three-dimensional volume that can be empty or filled with objects. It

has width, height, and depth. Space that appears three-dimensional in a two-dimensional
 painting is an illusion that creates a feeling of actual depth. Various techniques can be used to

show such visual depth or space.

 Space refers to the area that a shape or form occupies. It also refers to the background against
which we see the shape or form. Space can be defined as positive and negative.

The positive space of a design is the filled space in the design often, it is the shapes that make up
the design. Negative space is the background. The negative space in design is as important as the
positive area.

Principles of Design
Some combinations of design elements (line, shape, color, texture, and space) work better than
others. Here are some guidelines to help you understand why some combinations work and
others do not work as well. These guidelines—rhythm, proportion, emphasis, balance, and
unity—are the principles of design.
Principles of Design
1. Rhythm
2. Proportion
3. Emphasis
4. Balance
5. Unity
Rhythm
Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create feeling of
organized movement. You have felt rhythm in music. Rhythm is also a part of things you see. It
allows the eye to move from one part of a design to another part.

Rhythm can be created by:

• Repeating a color, shape, texture, line, or space when designing.
• Varying the size of objects, shapes, or lines in sequence (small to large).
• Using a progression of colors from tints to shades (light blue to dark blue).
• Shifting from one hue to a neighboring hue (yellow to yellow-orange to orange to red-orange to
red).
Proportion
Proportion refers to the relationship between one part of a design and another part or to the
whole design. It is a comparison of sizes, shapes, and quantities. For example, the relationship
between the vertical and horizontal measurements of a wall hanging may be pleasing because the
unequal lengths produce an interesting contrast.
Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design. The issue is
the relationship between objects, or parts, of a whole. This means that it is necessary to discuss
proportion in terms of the context or standard used to determine proportions.
Emphasis
Every design needs an accent a point of interest. Emphasis is the quality that draws your
attention to a certain part of a design first. There are several ways to create emphasis:
• Use a contrasting color.
• Use a different or unusual line.
• Make a shape very large or very small.
• Use a different shape.
• Use plain background space.
 Balance
Balance is the distribution of visual weight of object, colors, texture and space. If the design was
a scale these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical balance,
the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the order side; in
Asymmetrical balance the sides are different but still look balanced. Balance gives a feeling of
stability. There are three types of balance.
Symmetrical, or formal balance, is the simplest kind. An item that is symmetrically balanced is
the same on both sides. Our bodies are an example of formal balance. If you draw an imaginary
line from your head to your toes dividing your body in half, you will be pretty much the same on
both sides. Designs that have a radial balance have a center point. A tire, pizza, and a daisy
flower are all examples of design with radial balance. When you look through a kaleidoscope,
everything you see has a radial balance. Asymmetrical balance creates a feeling of equal weight
on both sides, even though the sides do not look the same.

Unity
When things look right together, you have created unity or harmony. Lines and shapes that
repeat each other show unity (curved lines with curved shapes). Colors that have a common hue
are harmonious. Textures that have a similar feel add to unity. But too much uniformity
sometimes can be boring. At the same time, too much variety destroys unity. Pleasing visual
combinations are harmonious. Each part fills a need to create a pleasant whole with interest using
a theme with variations often produces unity or harmony.
Unity through reparation