Aesthetics &Illustration for Interior Designers

Contents
1. Science of aesthetics
2. Elements of Design
3. Principles of Design
4. Applications in Interior Design-Window Treatments
5. Color Planning
6. Texture planning
7. Gestalts Principles of Psychology
8. Ergonomics and Anthropometrics-Kitchen &Work Stations
9. Accessory Design
10. Rendering
11. Perspectives-One point perspective and two point perspective
12. Free hand sketching
13. Block model Making
14. Roles of an Interior Designer
15. References

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

LINE
VALUE
COLOUR
TEXTURE
SHAPE
SIZE
SPACE

LINE
Line is an element of design that is used define shape, contours and outlines. It is as simple as two connecting point form a
line and each line has length, width and direction.
Lines are used in the following ways in design:

Contour lines - They describe the shape of an object and defines or bounds an edge,.

Divide space: - A line that defines the edge of space and can also create a gap of negative space. They create outlines
of shapes.

Expressive line - Line that are energetic and catches the movement & gestures of an active thing.

Implied line - Lines that are not actually drawn but created by a group of object seen from a distance.

VALUE

Value is the relative degree of lightness and darkness in a design element. Line, color, texture, and shape all need value
contrast in order to be seen. Value is used to describe objects, shapes, and space.
Dark areas tend to denote

gloom

mystery

drama

menace

Light areas tend to denote

happiness

fun

warmth

closeness

Color:
Color is the hue, shade or tone of an object.
Categories of Color
There are 3 basic categories of color.

Primary Color - They are red, blue, and yellow.

These colors are equal distant on the color wheel and are used to make up other colors.

o
o

Secondary Colors - They are orange, violet and green.

These colors are created by mixing of two primary colors.
Secondary colors are used to be more vibrant than the primary colors and more unique.

o
o
o

Tertiary Colors - They are Red-Orange, Yellow-Green, and Blue-Violet.

These colors are formed by mixing of a primary and secondary color.
Tertiary colors also are not as accepting as primary colors for people.
They do ad a layer of richness to a color palate and makes it feel less childlike and more sophisticated.

Perceptual attributes of color

There are tree attributes of color which creates the millions of different colors used in our world.

Hue - It is the redness, blueness or yellowness in each color

Value - It is the lightness of color. Tints and shades of color that are created by adding black to a color for a shade and
adding white for a tint. Creating a tint or shade of a color reduces the saturation.

Intensity/Saturation - This is the color's brightness or dullness

Grouping of colors
There are also three grouping of colors that have similar characteristics.

Monochromatic is the where one color is used but in a different value or intensity.
For an example, using a dark brown, brown and light brown colors together

Warm colors are the colors on one side of the color wheel that give the felling of warmth.
For an example, red, orange and yellow

Cool colors are the colors on the opposite side of the color wheel as the warm colors and they give a feeling of coolness.
For an example, blue, violet and green
Color is categorized by how the colors are used together.

Analogous colors:
The analog color are those colors that lie on either side of it in the color wheel.
For an example, Red, red-orange and orange.

Complementary colors:
These colors are opposite of the color wheel and when placed next to each other they look bright.
When they are mixed together they neutralize each other.
For an example, blue & orange or red & green, or violet & yellow
A color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle that shows relationships
between primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors etc As an illustrative model, artists typically use red, yellow,
and blue primaries (RYB color model) arranged at three equally spaced points around their color wheel.. Printers and others
who use modern subtractive color methods and terminology use magenta, yellow, andcyan as subtractive primaries. Color

scientists and psychologists often use the additive primaries, red, green and blue; and often refer to their arrangement around a
circle as a color circle .
TINT ,TONE AND SHADE:
A tint is the mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, and a shade is the mixture of a color with black, which
reduces lightness. A tone is produced either by the mixture of a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading. Mixing a color
with anyneutral color (including black, gray and white) reduces the chroma, or colorfulness, while the hue remains unchanged.
Texture:
Texture is the way a surface feels or is perceived to feel. Texture can be added to attract or repel interest to an element
depending on the pleasantness of the texture.
Types of Texture:
There are two main types of texture.

Tactile Texture is the actual three dimensional surface that you can feel

Visual Texture is the illusion that a surface has peaks and valleys. Lots of images of nature and art appear to have a
texture but it is smooth to the touch.
Most textures have a natural feel but still have a repeat in some way. The regularly repeating of a motif will result in a texture
that appears as a pattern.
Parameters
Light reflection
A carpet will reflect less light than a wooden floor
Visual & Tactile texture
By adding a glass top to a roughly hewn coffee table you will change the tactile texture whilst retaining the visual texture
Scale

A sofa upholstered in a chunky cord is going to look very different to the same sofa upholstered in linen
Suitability
It may be great to have a sleek marble floor in a contemporary bathroom, but is it a practical choice?
Texture & Scale:One of the basic principles of using texture has to do with scale. Rough, coarse textures tend to make an
object feel heavier, while smoother textures will make it feel lighter.
Texture & Light:Texture can suggest temperature: smooth and shiny textures which reflect more light and give a cool
impression; soft, raised textures, which absorb more light, convey a sense of warmth. Rooms we would describe as cosy
usually include lots of texture.

SHAPE:
Shape is a defined as an area that stands out from the space next to it or around it due to a defined or implied boundary or
because of differences of value, color or texture. All objects are composed of shapes and all other elements of design are
shapes in some way.
Categories of Shape
There are 6 categories of shape.

Geometric Shapes: These are the shapes that can be drawn using a ruler or compass. Mechanical or geometric shapes
produce a feeling of control or order no matter how simple or complex they are.

Organic Shapes: These shapes are drawn freehand and are more complex and are normally found in nature. They are
free flowing, informal and irregular. Organic shapes produce a natural feeling.

Positive Shapes: These shapes are the solid forms with in the space. The wood beams in the photo below create
the positive shapes.

Negative Shapes: These shapes are the space around the positive shape or the empty space. The circles shown in the
picture above are negative shapes.

Static Shape: These shapes have the appearance of being stable and at rest.

Dynamic Shapes: These shapes have the appearance of being active and moving.

SIZE
It is how big or small something is. In design, size can function, it can attract, or it can organize.

SPACE
Space is concerned with the area the design will take place on.
Categories of Space:
There are four types of space:
1. Positive space - It is similar to positive shape that it is the figure or foreground space and the focus of the design.
2. Negative space - It is similar to negative shape that it is the empty space that is the background or what surrounds the
subject matter.
3. Shading - Shading adds gradation marks to make an object in 2 dimensional surface seem it is 3 dimensional. Below
are the 5 kinds of shading light which used together create 3 dimensional look.

Highlights, Transitional Light, Core of the Shadow, Reflected Light, Cast Shadow
4. Perceptive - It is the graphic arts that is an approximate representation of image that is perceived by the eye on a flat
surface.
Non Linear Perspective - Is the method of showing depth that incorporates the following techniques:
Position - The placement of an object higher on the page which makes it appear farther back than the other objects
place on the lower part of the page.
Overlapping - When an object overlaps another object it appears closer and the object behind the object appears farther
away.
Size variation - Smaller objects look farther away in the distance and larger objects look closer.
Color - Bright colors look like they are closer to you and neutral colors look like they are farther away.
Value - Lighter values look like they are farther back and darker value looks like they they are closer.
Linear Perspective - Is the method of using lines to show the illusion of depth in a picture.
One point perspective - When lines are created by the side of objects and they all meet at one point on the horizon.
Two point perspective - When two lines look as they are meeting at two points on the horizon line.
Assignment 1:
1.Describe how Point, Form,Light and Time can be used as elements of design?
2.Submit Sketchbook with exercises on
1.Lines
2Value
3 Photo documentation of ONAM flower carpets
4.Color Wheel
5

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality.
The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical
measurement of the stimulus source.
There are three main types:
1. literal optical illusions that create images that are different from the objects that make them,
2. physiological illusions that are the effects of excessive stimulation of a specific type
position, tilt, movement)

(brightness, colour, size,

3. cognitive illusions, the result of unconscious inferences. Pathological visual illusions arise from a pathological
exaggeration in physiological visual perception mechanisms causing the aforementioned types of illusions.
Physiological illusions
Physiological illusions, such as the afterimages following bright lights, or adapting stimuli of excessively longer alternating
patterns (contingent perceptual aftereffect), are presumed to be the effects on the eyes or brain of excessive stimulation or
interaction with contextual or competing stimuli of a specific typebrightness, colour, position, tile, size, movement, etc. The

theory is that a stimulus follows its individual dedicated neural path in the early stages of visual processing, and that intense or
repetitive activity in that or interaction with active adjoining channels cause a physiological imbalance that alters perception.
The Hermann grid illusion and Mach bands are two illusions that are best explained using a biological approach

Cognitive illusions
Cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by interaction with assumptions about the world, leading to "unconscious inferences",
an idea first suggested in the 19th century by the German physicist and physician Hermann Helmholtz. Cognitive illusions are
commonly divided into ambiguous illusions, distorting illusions, paradox illusions, or fiction illusions.
1. Ambiguous illusions are pictures or objects that elicit a perceptual "switch" between the alternative interpretations.
The Necker cube is a well-known example; another instance is the Rubin vase.
2. Distorting or geometrical-optical illusions are characterized by distortions of size, length, position or curvature. A striking
example is the Caf wall illusion. Other examples are the famous Mller-Lyer illusion and Ponzo illusion.
3. Paradox illusions are generated by objects that are paradoxical or impossible, such as the Penrose
triangle or impossible staircase seen, for example, in M.C. Escher'sAscending and Descending and Waterfall. The
triangle is an illusion dependent on a cognitive misunderstanding that adjacent edges must join.
4. Fictions are when a figure is perceived even though it is not in the stimulus.

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

BALANCE
Balance in design is similar to balance in physics

A large shape close to the center can be balanced

by a small shape close to the edge. A large light
toned shape will be balanced by a small dark toned
shape (the darker the shape the heavier it appears to be)

GRADATION
Gradation of size and direction produce linear perspective. Gradation of of colour from warm to cool and tone from dark to light
produce aerial perspective. Gradation can add interest and movement to a shape. A gradation from dark to light will cause the
eye to move along a shape.

REPETITION
Repetition with variation is interesting, without variation repetition can become monotonous.

The five squares above are all the same. They can be taken in and understood with a single glance.

When variation is introduced, the five squares, although similar, are much more interesting to look at. They can no longer be
absorbed properly with a single glance. The individual character of each square needs to be considered.
If you wish to create interest, any repeating element should include a degree of variation.
CONTRAST
Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colours on the colour wheel - red / green, blue / orange etc.
Contrast in tone or value - light / dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal / vertical.
The major contrast in a painting should be located at the center of interest. Too much contrast scattered throughout a painting
can destroy unity and make a work difficult to look at. Unless a feeling of chaos and confusion are what you are seeking, it is a
good idea to carefully consider where to place your areas of maximum contrast.
HARMONY
Harmony in painting is the visually satisfying effect of combining similar, related elements. eg.adjacent colours on the colour
wheel, similar shapes etc.

DOMINANCE
Dominance gives a painting interest, counteracting confusion and monotony. Dominance can be applied to one or more of the
elements to give emphasis

UNITY
Relating the design elements to the the idea being expressed in a painting reinforces the principal of unity.eg. a painting with an
active aggressive subject would work better with a dominant oblique direction, course, rough texture, angular lines etc. whereas
a quiet passive subject would benefit from horizontal lines, soft texture and less tonal contrast.
Unity in a painting also refers to the visual linking of various elements of the work.

Gestalts Principles of Psychology

Gestalt is also known as the "Law of Simplicity" or the "Law of Pragnanz" (the entire figure or configuration), which states that
every stimulus is perceived in its most simple form.
Gestalt theorists followed the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole (a
picture, a car) carried a different and altogether greater meaning than its individual components (paint, canvas, brush; or tire,
paint, metal, respectively). In viewing the "whole," a cognitive process takes place the mind makes a leap from
comprehending the parts to realizing the whole,
We visually and psychologically attempt to make order out of chaos, to create harmony or structure from seemingly
disconnected bits of information.
The prominent founders of Gestalt theory are Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka.
1. Figure/Ground
This principle shows our perceptual tendency to separate whole figures from their backgrounds based on one or more of a
number of possible variables, such as contrast, color, size, etc.
A simple composition may have only one figure. In a complex composition there will be several things to notice. As we look from
one to another they each become figure in turn.

The focus at any moment is the figure.

M. C. Escher Sky and Water 1 1938

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Everything that is not figure is ground.
As our attention shifts, the ground also shifts so that an object can go from figure to ground and then back.
Ground is sometimes thought of as background or negative space.
Figure-ground refers to the relationship between an object and its surround. Sometimes the relationship is stable, meaning that
it is easy to pick out the figure from the ground.

Henri Matisse

La Danse (I)1909 8'6 1/2" x 12'9 1/2" (259.7 x 390.1 cm),

La Musique 1910, Dance (II) 1910, 8'5 3/8" x 12'9 1/4" (260 x 389 cm)
Dance (II) 1910, 8' 5 5/8" x 12' 9 1/2" (260 x 391 cm)
Other times the relationship is unstable, meaning it is difficult to pick out the figure from the ground. Rarely, the relationship is
ambiguous, meaning that the figure could be the ground or vice-versa.

Tips
Clearly differentiate between figure and ground in order to focus attention and minimize perceptual confusion.

Camouflage
Camouflage is the deliberate alteration of figure-ground so that the figure blends into the ground.

During the Gulf War, all tanks had to be repainted from a woodland camouflage pattern to a desert camouflage pattern because
camouflage is terrain specific. That specificity is also evident when one goes to purchase camouflage clothing; it comes in
several patterns, each best suited to particular environments or seasons.
Camouflage material may have a single color, or it may have several similarly colored patches mixed together. The reason for
using this sort of pattern is that it is visually disruptive. The meandering lines of the mottled camouflage pattern help hide
the contour -- the outline -- of the body. When you look at a piece of mottled camouflage in a matching environment, your brain
naturally "connects" the lines of the colored blotches with the lines of the trees, ground, leaves and shadows. This affects the
way you perceive and recognize the person or object wearing that camouflage.

Grant Wood helped develop the US military's camouflage during World War I.

Dali, "L'image disparait," 1938.

The Camouflage House

Desiree Palmen

2. Similarity
Gestalt theory states that things which share visual characteristics such as shape, size, color, texture, or value will be seen as
belonging together in the viewers mind.

In the graphic below, the viewer is likely to discern a shape in the middle, though each individual object is the same color.

 Repetition of forms or colors in a composition is pleasing in much the same way rhythm is pleasing in music the forms aren't
necessarily identical - there may be tremendous variety within the repetition, yet the correspondence will still be discernable.
Like static and dynamic tension a deliberate use of similarity in composition can impart meaning to the viewer that is
independent of the subject matter of the image.
Similarity or repetition in an image often has connotations of harmony and interrelatedness, or rhythm and movement.

Ilse Bing
good composition: regardless of the subject matter, makes some use of similarity in arranging elements and space for
aesthetic advantage.

Rptition d'un Ballet. 1874

Carol Golemboski

In Edgar Degas' The Millinery Shop notice the repetition of the circle motif. Circles represent objects such as hats, flowers,
bows, the woman's head, bosom, and skirt, etc. The painting is a whole design of circles broken by a few verticals (the hat
stand, the ribbons, the back draperies) and a triangle or two (the table, the woman's vent arm, and the front hat's ribbons).

Edgar Degas The Millinery Shop. 1879-1884

3. Proximity
The Gestalt law of proximity states that "objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups". Even if the
shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close together.

refers to the way smaller elements are "massed" in a composition.

Bill Brandt
Also called "grouping," the principle concerns the effect generated when the collective presence of the set of elements
becomes more meaningful than their presence as separate elements.

Arnold Newman

 Arranging words into sentences or titles is an obvious way to group unrelated elements to enhance their meaning (it also
depends on a correct order for comprehension).
Grouping the words also changes the visual and psychological meaning of the composition in non-verbal ways unrelated to
their meaning.
Elements which are grouped together create the illusion of shapes or planes in space, even if the elements are not touching.
Grouping of this sort can be achieved with:
Tone / value
Color
Shape
Size
Or other physical attributes

The painting by Thomas P. Anshutz of workers on their lunch break shows the idea in composition. The lighter elements of the
workers' upper bodies contrast with the generally darker background. These light elements are not placed aimlessly around the
composition but, by proximity, are arranged carefully to unite visually. Arms stretch and reach out to touch or overlap adjoining
figures so the bodies form a large horizontal unit stretching across the painting.

Thomas P. Anshutz. The Ironworkers' Noontime

Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, c. 1510. Sistine Chapel, Rome.

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam demonstrates the expressive power of proximity.

4. Closure
The satisfaction of a pattern encoded, as it were, into the brain, thus triggering recognition of the stimulus. This can involve the
brain's provision of missing details thought to be a part of a potential pattern, or, once closure is achieved, the elimination of
details unnecessary to establish a pattern match.

Closure is the effect of suggesting a visual connection or continuity between sets of elements which do not actually
touch each other in a composition.
The principle of closure applies when we tend to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing.

Closure occurs when elements in a composition are aligned in such a way that the viewer perceives that "the
information could be connected."

Kanizsa Illusion
Imaginary lines called vectors, or shapes called counter forms, are generated by these relationships, which the eye
understands as part of the composition even though there is "nothing there.
Vectors and counter forms exert forces and tensions that are as real in defining its underlying structure as the elements that
are visible.
Linear vectors direct the path of the eye through the composition and determine where the eye will go once it is attracted by
the prominent features of the composition.
A vector can be straight or curved, depending on the relationships that form it.
Counter forms, (or negative spaces), determine to a great extent whether or not the composition will be perceived as a
harmonious whole. Counter forms "echo" the positive visual elements with "similarity," or create powerful substructures that
support and connect visible elements.

Katsushika Hokusai The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

From "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji"; 1823-29

 Closure can be thought of as the tension or "glue" that holds a two-dimensional structure together.

5. Good Continuation (Continuity)

This Gestalt law states that learners "tend to continue shapes beyond their ending points".
The edge of one shape will continue into the space and meet up with other shapes or the edge of the picture plane.
The example below illustrates that learners are more apt to follow the direction of an established pattern rather than deviate
from it.
We perceive the figure as two crossed lines instead of 4 lines meeting at the center.

Continuity in the form of a line, an edge, or a direction from one form to another creates a fluid connection among compositional
parts.
In Degas' drawing the line of the round tub starts at the bather's hairline, meets her fingertips, and joins the vertical line of the
shelf where the brush handle overlaps. The circular shape of the bather's hips is tangential to the same shelf edge. The objects
on the shelf barely touch and carry the eye from one to another.

Edgar Degas, The Tub, 1886. Pastel

6. Symmetry or Order
Symmetry states that the viewer should not be given the impression that something is out of balance, or missing, or wrong.
If an object is asymmetrical, the viewer will waste time trying to find the problem instead of concentrating on the instruction.
Order has connotations of stability, consistency and structure.
An orderly arrangement of elements has connotations that will be perceived either positively or negatively by a viewer
depending on the purpose of the communication and the viewer's personality.
Utilitarian information (instructional or technical design) will be more effective if the presentation is orderly, especially if it must
be comprehended quickly.
traffic signs
sets of instructions
reference books
Texts and illustrative material may also need to be orderly; especially if the organization sponsoring the communication wishes
to be perceived as orderly and well run (annual reports are typically clean, orderly documents).

 People are accustomed to receiving information in a systematic and organized manner and will be frustrated by material that
requires too much work to comprehend.
Some viewers associate order with institutional rigidity or social conservatism and will reject or be "bored" by communications
that seem too highly structured.
Developing judgment about audience preferences and tolerances with respect to order is central to the designer's task.
The goal is to be structured and equally engaging.

Color Schemes
Monochromatic colors are all the colors (tints, tones, and shades) of a single hue. Monochromatic color
schemes are derived from a single base hue, and extended using its shades, tones and tints (that is, a hue
modified by the addition of black, gray (black + white) and white. As a result, the energy is more subtle and
peaceful due to a lack of contrast of hue.

Complementary colors

Chevreul's 1855 "chromatic diagram" based on theRYB color model, showing complementary colors and other relationships

Main article: Complementary color

For the mixing of colored light, Newton's color wheel is often used to describe complementary colors, which
are colors which cancel each other's hue to produce an achromatic (white, gray or black) light mixture.
Newton offered as a conjecture that colors exactly opposite one another on the hue circle cancel out each
other's hue; this concept was demonstrated more thoroughly in the 19th century.[citation needed]
A key assumption in Newton's hue circle was that the "fiery" or maximum saturated hues are located on the
outer circumference of the circle, while achromatic white is at the center. Then the saturation of the mixture

of two spectral hues was predicted by the straight line between them; the mixture of three colors was
predicted by the "center of gravity" or centroid of three triangle points, and so on.

Split-Complementary
The split-complementary (also called Compound Harmony) color scheme is a variation of the
complementary color scheme. In addition to the base color, it uses the two "Analogous" colors adjacent to its
complement. Split-complementary color scheme has the same strong visual contrast as the complementary
color scheme, but has less pressure.

Achromatic colors
Any color that lacks strong chromatic content is said to be'unsaturated, achromatic, or near neutral'. Pure
achromatic colors include black, white and all grays; near neutrals include browns, tans, pastels and darker
colors. Near neutrals can be of any hue or lightness.
Neutrals are obtained by mixing pure colors with white, black or gray, or by mixing two complementary
colors. In color theory, neutral colors are colors easily modified by adjacent more saturated colors and they
appear to take on the hue complementary to the saturated color. Next to a bright red couch, a gray wall will
appear distinctly greenish.

Black and white have long been known to combine well with almost any other colors; black decreases the
apparent saturationor brightness of colors paired with it, and white shows off all hues to equal effect.[5]

Analogous colors
Analogous colors (also called Dominance Harmony) color scheme are groups of colors that are adjacent to
each other on the color wheel, with one being the dominant color, which tends to be
a primary or secondary color, and two on either side complementing, which tend to be tertiary.
The term analogous refers to the having analogy, or corresponding to something in particular. An analogous
color scheme creates a rich, monochromatic look. Its best used with either warm or cool colors, creating a
look that has a certain temperature as well as proper color harmony. While this is true, the scheme also
lacks contrast and is less vibrant than complementary schemes.
Red, yellow and orange are examples of analogous colors
Accented analogous
An accented analogous complementary scheme utilizes related hues lying adjacent on the color wheel with
a hue directly opposite to these. This direct complement becomes the accent color, used to create a
dominant color grouping of three similar colors accented with the direct complement (or the near
complement) of one of them. The complementary accent color creates an interesting contrast against the
dominant color grouping. This scheme is frequently used to put a warm accent color with a cool analogous
color pallet, or a cool accent color with a warm pallet.

Triadic colors
The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. The easiest way to place
them on the wheel is by using a triangle of equal sides. Triadic color schemes tend to be quite vibrant, even
when using pale or unsaturated versions of hues, offers a higher degree of contrast while at the same time
retains the color harmony. This scheme is very popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast
while retaining balance, and color richness. The triadic scheme is not as contrasting as the complementary
scheme, but it is easier to accomplish balance and harmony with these colors.

Tetradic colors
The tetradic (double complementary) colors scheme is the richest of all the schemes because it uses four
colors arranged into two complementary color pairs. This scheme is hard to harmonize and requires a color
to be dominant or subdue the colors.; if all four colors are used in equal amounts, the scheme may look
unbalanced.

Ergonomics