Elements of a Great Design

You can see them everywhere. They could be in that Starbucks logo of your coffee cup. It could be way up there in the billboard as your drive your way back home. It could even be as simple as the chair you sit in during dinner. Great designs are everywhere and it can be anything. It is just a matter of finding what makes any design as great as it is and what we can do to capture that greatness.

First element of a great design is uniqueness. There are a lot of beautiful designs out there. There are thousands of amazing art depicting a bowl of fruit. However, even if a painter puts perfect technique into canvas you would not say that it was great design.

A great design is one of a kind. It can be congruent or even inspired by other designs but it must be able to stand on its own as a unique design. Take the Mona Lisa for example. You would see other portraits of other women but the Mona Lisa is unique. It could be the wonderfully wry smile or it could even be the fact that the Mona Lisa has no Eye brows. But, one thing for sure, there is nothing else like it.

Another part of a good design is its symmetry. A symmetrical design is eye catching because it calls the attention of the viewer. The eye sees that both sides are the same and the brain automatically picks it up. The Eiffel tower is a classic example of symmetry at work. As it towers over Paris, you cannot help but be mesmerized by its magnificence. The additional attention brought about by Symmetry is what gives a design like the Eiffel tower an advantage over other designs.

The paintings of Jackson Pollock are also great even if it is not necessarily symmetrical. In fact, Jackson Pollock's work can be described as free of form. What captures my attention from his works is the amazing array of color that we are treated to. Each splatter, blot, and drip serves a purpose and as such it conveys a message that is unique but all of this will not have been achieved if not for the collection of colors that he uses.

Another aspect of design that is extraordinary is its commitment to coherence and continuity. A great design conveys a message successfully but no one will understand what you are trying to say if you do not have a clear thought. Figure out what you want to say and say it in a clear and concise manner. This is particularly applicable for billboards and other large format printing. In this form of media, the viewer has only a short time to absorb your message so it is important that it can easily be read and understood.

There are many great ways to turn your design into an exceptional one. These are just some of the elements of a good design. Look at the other great designs out there and apply those to your own designs.

Online Drawing Tips

If you have a passion for art and drawing, you can perk up your skills with the help of online drawing tips. Unlike the past, you do not have to depend on the formal art classes that call for much time and money as these websites provide all the drawing freaks with a perfect opportunity to learn the art of drawing and improve upon their talent. There are countless kids and grown ups who love to draw.

However, many of them remain deprived of learning this art because of shortage of time or money. They long to improve their skills but their resources do not allow them to do so. However, in the present times no one has to suffer this way as online drawing tips offer a perfect way to equip yourself with the art of drawing.

You can find a number of drawing websites that offer different online tips and lessons that allow you learn drawing in an easy way. Some of these tips are based on videos while others are in the form of illustration and text. You can explore different lessons and settle on the ones that you find the most suitable for you.

The online drawing tips have different levels. Some of them are basic level lessons while others are more advanced. The choice of a lesson depends on your own skill level. For example, if you are already good at drawing you can go for the advanced drawing tips while if you have just started drawing and do not know the fundamentals of this art you can settle for the beginner level lessons and tips.

You can find various types of online lessons such as how to draw animals, how to draw cartoons, how to draw people etc. The type of tips you need to make use of depends on the kind of drawing that you are interested in. You can also find general tips that allow you to know the common or general tips related to drawing.

Other than the huge variety as well as the types of online drawing tips, another great thing about these lessons is that they are free of cost. You have to pay no registration fee or any other types of charges to benefit from these websites.

With this and much more, online drawing tips is simply the most effective and easiest way to learn the art of drawing. They are no less than a blessing for those who are into drawing

Art Photos

Now that we are living in a digital era, we see digital photographs everywhere, especially when we use the internet. And that's what convenient about them, that you can upload them and use them however you like: to decorate your screen display, to use them on blogs or websites or to share them with your dear ones and people all over the world.

Art photos represent transforming digital photography into art. There are many ways to do that, with today technology and its amazing tools. There are hundreds of softwares available which allow manipulation of photos. You just need a little imagination and a sense of style and design and you can do whatever you want with your own pictures in a matter of minutes. By editing your photos, you can add a personal touch to them or you can fix any imperfections. With a simple search on the internet, you will be amazed what people can do with a simple photograph and how impossible becomes possible through art photos.

One of the most common practices in photo manipulation is to do it in Photoshop which gives you endless possibilities to create something amazing if you know how to use it. It's not that difficult if you're a regular user of the computer and of the internet and you can find many tutorials explaining what you should do to get impressive special effects. But if you prefer just searching for these amazing art photos and see what others can achieve with the miraculous tools of modern technology, then you can just enjoy the great variety of options available on thousands of websites.

Manipulating photos and making the unreal a reality has become a hobby for many people who discovered what stunning things can be created with a little bit of imagination. This type of technique can be a great way to create unique and outstanding art designs and the entire process could be fun and entertaining nearly as much as the results are.

The best thing about modern technology is that allows us to do things we once not even thought about, things that we couldn't imagine to be possible. This includes uploading your photos online and sharing them with whoever is concerned or with just friends and family. For professional photographers or even amateur ones, sharing photos with other people interested in this domain can bring great benefits as their talent might get noticed and they might get encouragement comments and constructive criticism. Art photos are more than photos, they are pieces of art incorporated in photos, that's why whoever creates them must pay attention to all the details and any comment from other users might be useful to make him create better pictures in the future.

Art photos represent the new art in the digitised world of today, a creative retouching of beauty. So whenever you need to take a break and enjoy something fabulous and incredible, you can visit art photos websites and impress your eyes with that magic visual experience.

Is Graphic Design an Art?

Before we get going with this topic, we need to know the distinction between art and design. But again we start of with this hair splitting distinction; we need to know them separately.

What is art?

The answer of this simple question is so complex that it has enamored artists day after day, but the conclusion has yet to come. Because to circumscribed it in a worldly accepted definition frame is rather Herculean task. According to Plato it is an imitation of an imitation. If definition goes like this we can say monkey is an artist as he has the capability and quality to copy and imitate man. But we can never take monkey as an artist. Though Aristotle attributed it a human inclination for imitation, but he gave it a little modification saying art is an imitation of life.

Joyce says: "Art is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an aesthetic end"

The greatest modern poet and fervent critic T.S. Eliot says: "Art is the escape from personality."

Few artists say: "Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in."

Since then to till today lots of argument and counter argument have arisen time to time with no perfect and final definition for it. Yet the most accepted definition has been taken for it is "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others" Now let me say something on design to make the matter understandable to you.

What is design?

Design is the act of drawing and working out the form of something. Now have a look on the basic difference between art and design:

1. Good art has the capability to inspire one, on the other hand good design motivates.
2. Good art gives interpretation as it communicates people in different ways. On the other hand good design is understood as it motivates people to communicate in the same way with a same message.
3. Art is the reflection of taste; design is the representation of one's opinion.
4. Finally art is a talent and design is a skill.
5. Same art sends different message to different people but same design sends same message to everybody.

What is graphic design?

Graphic design is designing graphic with a skilful combination of texts and pictures. We can clearly say graphic design is a genre of design.

Why graphic design is not an art?

From the above differentiation between art and design, we can say art is different from design. As graphic design is a visual representation and skillful combination of texts and pictures and functions for a specific task to communicate viewers with a specific message with no matter of how much aesthetic and beautiful it is; we can say graphic design is not an art. There has been a sharp controversy among the Graphic Designer in Auckland, but most of them have now accepted that graphic design is not an art.

Silhouette Style Portraits

Personal portraits are a great way of enhancing room décor with your own individual style. There are various ways of creating designer portraits, and silhouette styled portraits are a stylish way of doing so. These portraits highlight the basic outline of the person rather than facial details, giving way to an unusual style of art.

Traditional silhouette style

The silhouette style of portraiture has been popular since many ages, with this style being predominant on Roman era coinage. At that time, images were usually cut out of a black card, a method that is still followed prominently. Other ways of creating silhouettes including painting on mediums, or on reverse in glass, hollow-cutting of images out of the medium and pasting them. The form was also seen frequently in the mid 18th century, though the term silhouette was not employed. Pictures at that time would comprise the basic outline of the person, filled in with black colour. The form lost its popular stance during the invention years of the camera, and came back to popularity only with advertising campaigns and pop art.

Emergence of new era silhouettes

One advertising campaign that really brought silhouette images to life was that of Apple iPod. The advertisements featured popular rock start Eminem and other models in silhouette style. Only the iPods were made visible in the campaign. Soon after the campaign, various pop artists, inspired from the advertisement and previous versions of silhouette art, started creating versions. The style of creating silhouettes also evolved from being simply a cut and paste job to a photo-development technology. Advent of the digital cameras made technologies much more accessible to people.

Silhouette style pop art

All these efforts over the years have today resulted in a new, fresh and interesting form of silhouette art. Today this pop art is available in various ways. Single bright coloured backgrounds often feature a black silhouette or vice versa. Various artists love to play with silhouette colour combinations, resulting in amazing styles that are great for home décor. Various versions of the style are also made available. One of these is the detailed silhouette style, where facial features are made more obvious in the portrait, giving the resemblance of dim lighting conditions. Unlike ordinary digital photographs, pop art silhouettes combine the artistic intellect with new age technologies, creating an amazing amalgamation of style and structure.

Unlike common misconception that silhouettes do not give a clear image of the person, various researchers opinions differ. In fact, it is possible to note the gender, age and facial features of the person from the silhouette alone. Experts also state, that this form of art is great for visual media like photographs, movies, theater and also graphic design. Few online studios today offer a range of silhouette art portraits made to suit the needs of our customers. Silhouettes are thus created in stark colour combinations and also with detailed pictures to show features. Also, these can be printed not just on canvas, but on a range of different mediums like wood, cloth, metal and even natural slate.

5 Arguments Why You Should Suggest Art in a Children's Life

Self-Esteem
Creating art or working on an art or craft project can develop a child's sense of "feeling good" about him or herself, and what he or she has accomplished. Happiness and pride in his or her artistic accomplishments helps promote positive feelings and generally, a healthier, positive attitude.

Stress Reliever
There is no room for life's problems and stress while a child is totally immersed in an art or craft project. Finding ways to relieve stress in our lives is a very positive and healthy action to take. It's good for all of us, including children, to try to spend time each day free of stress.

Using the Right Side of the Brain
Working and being educated in the arts, along with the core classes (English, mathematics, and science), and the humanities, helps to promote a more well-rounded education. Encouraging children to use both sides of their brain can lead to healthier overall development in children.

Hand and Eye Co-Ordination
Developing what a child's eyes see and what his or her hand can replicate on paper is a good hand and eye co-ordination exercise. Seeing that picture on the board and trying to draw, color or paint it the same way, or seeing a craft project and trying to duplicate it helps to develop hand and eye co-ordination, which is an important part of childhood development.

Learning the Act of Giving
When children give their art work or craft projects to family and friends, it instills a sense of happiness and accomplishment in them, and helps them to start learning and understanding, that the act of giving is an important part of life, and a "win, win" situation for both themselves and their recipients. Giving their art work or handmade crafts makes them feel proud of what they have made, and it makes them feel happy knowing that they have made someone that they care about, happy too.

In summary, encouraging a child's creativeness, and praising the artistic achievements of a child is so important to his or her overall development. We all want our children to grow up feeling good about themselves and the world around them. We want our children to realize that they can achieve their goals, dreams, and aspirations, because we, as parents, teachers, mentors, friends and relatives, have helped them to develop their self-confidence in whom they are and what they can accomplish. Art, in any form, helps to promote and develop good characteristics in a child that, hopefully, will lead to a productive, rewarding, and happy adult life.

Dawn Best offers art easels, boards, and early educational furniture for artistically active children. Supplying a child with good art supplies and easels could help stimulate a child's creative imagination.

Different Arts for Different Human

Have you ever wondered as to why one art form finds popularity with a certain segment of people, but may be totally unpopular for another set? Have you thought why the same art form, has both followers and critics in abundance? Take for instance the case of pop art itself. While this contemporary art form has a huge following and is fast being accepted by many, one does not cease to wonder at why the large criticism also exists. There are in fact many people, who will say that pop art is not art at all, and merely a low class replica. There is no truth in this belief however. What is true, is that different human respond differently to different forms of art. While some connect positively to one form, others react to it negatively. And this is what makes any form of art truly unique and communicative.

In this article we will discuss the diverse personalities of communities/ people and how they relate to the varied forms of art. While our deductions may not be totally true, we can come close to understanding the different ways in which art is understood.

Culturally ethnic: The ethnic groups of people often have strong religious and cultural beliefs. The art forms they believe and relate to are also thus very restricted. People from such cultural groups have grown up seeing and liking certain forms of art, and hence their ideals would be shaped in a certain way. They often would not relate to contemporary forms of art and may be critical of them.

Culturally extrovert: The culture or environment of a place often shapes the choices of people. In extrovert communities, where people are welcome to change and new ideas, contemporary forms of art as introduced by Warhol, Lichtenstein are much accepted and welcomed too.

People in grief: Art is commonly used in art therapy for healing, and for a good reason. People react positively to certain colours, and when shown pieces of art that are uplifting, they feel better too. In many such sessions, the subjects are asked to discuss the aspects of the art form before them, a process that has helped many come out of their sadness.

Thinkers and Feelers: An important personality trait that can also be identified is whether people are thinkers or feelers. Thinkers tend to use more of their minds and relate to the ideas in an art form. Feelers, on the other hand relate more to the emotions and feelings behind a particular work of art. Through their reactions, one can understand better as to what senses are more dominant.

Social standing and art perception: The social standing a person enjoys can also in many ways shape the kind of art people like. For people who rank high on the economy ladder, prestigious pieces of art are equivalent to high priced original artworks that they may or may not relate to. What matters more is that these pieces do good for their profile and look good on the huge walls of their large mansions. People of other social classes, often take more interest in different forms of art and striking good deals on reprints rather than splurging at Christie's and Sotheby's.

It takes a wide variety of people to make the world we live. None of them are right or wrong, good or bad, wise or foolish. It is not the way that they are made, the difference lies in the way we perceive them. The same holds true for art also. If you open your eyes a little more, you will also be able to enjoy the beauty it holds in its variety, and depending on the kind of person you are, you will surely find your match in a unique beautiful form of art.

Personal Art is a pop art studio based in Bali, Indonesia. A team of artists work together to create personalized pop art on a range of mediums for a global clientele. Approximately 21 different pop art varieties are available for mediums like canvas, wood, ceramic and gift articles.