Elements of Design- Line

 

If a point continues to get thicker without also getting longer at some point it ceases to be a point and becomes a line. Where a point has no dimension, a line has one dimension. It has a length, but nothing else. Where dots are about attracting attention, lines are about movement and direction. That line can be straight (although some would argue that a line can never be truly straight) or curved. Lines are used to delineate objects as in a line drawing, or used to create graphs, or used to outline areas as in a framed effect. Imaginary lines are created when two areas of different colors, textures, or values meet to create a line between those effects. Vertical lines can stop eye movement. They also equate to power and strength. Horizontal lines symbolize rest and relaxation. Diagonal lines are dynamic and action-oriented.

  

The fundamental characteristic of a line is to connect or unite. A line leads somewhere, your eye moves along it seeking one or both of its endpoints. This movement and direction makes lines inherently dynamic. A line is not attracting you to a point in space. It’s directing you toward and away from points in space.The flip side of connecting is separating. Lines not only connect elements, they can also separate elements. They can connect an element to space or separate it from space. Lines separate and join both spaces and objects. Lines can also cross barriers, protect, and support.As lines become thicker they begin to be perceived as planes or surfaces and they gain mass. To maintain their identity as lines they must increase in length as they increase in width. Changing the width of a line relative to its length has a much greater effect on the quality of a line as changing the size of a dot has on the quality of a dot. The thinner the line the more the emphasis is on the quality of direction. The thicker the line the more emphasis is moved to the quality of mass and away from the quality of direction.

Which line segment is longer?

In this, although you may perceive (like most people the world over) that the bottom line is longest, you can quickly confirm that all the lines are of the same lengths. Even armed with the knowledge that they are the same length, the bottom line still appears longer than the other two. You can achieve the exact same effect just by wearing a V-neck shirt or dress (and, theoretically,bell-bottom pants or mermaid skirts). So why does a longer torso matter?

Designers also commonly use illusions to “trick the eye” into perceiving a more flattering silhouette, such as highlighting the waist with a belt to draw attention to the narrowest part of the body. Another trick is to wear V-neck tops, which gives the illusion of a longer torso.

Which of these two women looks thinner to you?

If you think you know the answer, feel free to leave a comment.

Thus, fashion experts could be basing their judgments on basic perceptual elements like color and height. If perceptual elements influence fashion judgments, we can pinpoint why a look appears unflattering, too busy, incohesive, etc. Ultimately, judging fashion may be less an art than a science.