Design Principles
HNB 4MI
What makes a good design?
Element
of
Design
Principles
of
Design
Silhouette
and
shape
space
line
texture
colour
Proportion
balance
emphasis
rhythm
=
harmony and
unity
+
Good
Design
Elements of Design:
• The elements of design are essentially the
building blocks of design and include:
• Silhouette/Shape
• Line
• Texture
• Colour
Designing garments involves the manipulation of
these elements in a manner that is guided by the
principles of design.
Silhouette
• Silhouette or shape is the first characteristic
people notice on a garment.
• Silhouette refers to a garment's basic shape or
outline.
• Silhouette can be considered from both a
historical perspective, which is still relevant
today, as well as an industry perspective.
Historical Perspective:
1880s bustle
silhouette
1947 bellshaped
silhouette
Industry Perspectives:
These silhouettes
represent the five
basic shapes used in
women's apparel.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bell, or bouffant, or dome shape,
The A-line
The wedge
The hourglass
The tubular
In women's wear a designer may choose one or two
of these silhouettes as a focus for their collection.
• The same is not true for men's wear where one
silhouette is chosen for a collection and one garment
is distinguished from another through the use of
different fabrics, detailing, and trims.
• Volume and qualities of lightness and weight are
closely associated with silhouette.
• For example, a sense of fullness and bulk or lack
of it is evident in the choice of garment style and
silhouette.
• As well, use of padding, gathering, heavy,
textured, lightweight, soft, and sheer fabrics can
give the impression of weight or lightness to the
silhouette.
• When designing a collection you must always
consider the silhouette and shape of a garment
from a 360 degree perspective, as the silhouette
is not always evident from viewing the front of
the garment.
• The importance of developing and refining the
silhouette cannot be emphasized enough, as it is
the silhouette which unifies and helps to develop
a theme and focus within a collection.
Line
• The line of the garment typically refers to the cut and placement of
structural lines such as seams and darts, decorative lines such as
trims, and added embellishments in a garment.
• What is essential to understand about the element of line is that
very interesting illusions can be created by using line in specific
ways.
• For example, vertical and horizontal lines can be used to lengthen or
shorten the body while curved lines can give a curvaceous and
feminine appearance to a garment.
• Designers understand the power of line in creating a visually rich
and visually pleasing design.
Line Example:
Texture:
• Designers will often use an identical silhouette and choose
identical details for a number of pieces in a collection, the
only variation being the texture of the fabrication selected for
each garment (Diamnond & Diamnond).
• Texture not only affects the appearance of a garment, it also
determines the type of fabric manipulation that can occur in
the construction of a garment.
• For example, garments made from leather and heavy woollen
fabrics do not incorporate gathers and draping into the design
of the garment.
• The fabrication will not respond to such manipulation.
Designers know that they must choose a fabrication and
texture that will translate into and enhance their design.
• Colour is the element of design that has the greatest
visual impact without increasing the cost of the garment.
• Colour provides symbolism, mood, emotion, excitement,
and cohesion to a garment and a collection.
• Seivewright (2007) notes that “colour can often be the
starting point of a collection and the design process as
choosing colours or a colour palette for a collection is
one of the earliest decisions you will make when
designing a collection” (pg. 128).
• It is essential for designers to have a solid understanding
of colour and colour theory and how colours can be used
and coordinated effectively.
Principles of Design:
• The principles of design serve as a guide lines for
combining elements. Again, the way in which
these principles are applied affects the
expressive content, or the message of the work.
• Balance
• Proportion
• Rhythm
• Emphasis
• Unity
Balance:
• Balance refers to visual weight in design. A
garment must be balanced to be visually
pleasing. Balance is also the concept of visual
equilibrium, and relates to our physical sense of
balance. Balance can be achieved in one of two
ways: symmetrically or asymmetrically.
Symmetrical Balance
• Symmetrical balance can be
described as having equal
"weight" on equal sides of a
centrally placed fulcrum. It is also
known as formal balance.
• In this case the design
composition is same on both side
of the garment, then the design is
considered symmetrical or
formally balanced, following the
natural bisymmetry of the body.
Asymmetrical Balance:
• Also known called informal
balance.
• It involves placement of objects in a
way that will allow objects of
varying visual weight to balance one
another around a fulcrum point.
• To achieve a more exciting,
dramatic effect asymmetrical or
informal balance can be used.
• A asymmetrical garment will make
pattern layout more difficult as a
result are expensive.
Proportion:
• Proportion is simply the pleasing
interrelationship of the sizes of all
parts of the garments.
• Standards of proportion change
with fashion cycles along with the
evolution in silhouette and line.
• The length and size of design
features like pockets, trimmings,
surface ornamentation or parts of
garments within the silhouettes
should compliment the whole.
Rhythm:
• Rhythm is a sense of movement
and is necessary to create
interest in a design and carry
out the central theme. Rhythm
can be achieved by the
repetition of lines, shapes and
colour to get direction.
Emphasis:
• Emphasis or a centre of
interest draws attention to the
focal point of the garment.
• It marks the locations in a
composition which most strongly
draw the viewer’s attention.
• A centre of interest should be
related to the total structure of
the garment.
• A focal point can be achieved by
colour accents, significant shapes
or details, lines coming together,
groups of details or contrast.
Unity:
• A successful design is achieved
when all the elements and
principles of design work together.
• Unity is the underlying principle
that summarizes all of the
principles and elements of design.
• It also the coherence of the whole,
the sense that all of the parts are
working together to achieve a
common result; a harmony of all
the parts and at the end to form a
successful design.
• Image Courtesy: tradenote.net,
allwomenstalk.com, thestylesample.com,
patternpulp.c sareensaree.com, bridgat.com,
pursepage.com
References:
• Astley, A. (ed.). (2009). The Teen Vogue Handbook: An
Insider's Guide to Careers in Fashion. Penguin Group.
• Diamnond, J. & Diamnond, E., (1997). The World of Fashion
(2nd ed.). Fairchild Publications.
Ekstrom, G., Justiss, M. (2006). Fashion Marketing. McGraw
Hill.
• Fitzgerald, T. & Grandon, A. (2009). 200 Projects to Get You
into Fashion Design. Hauppauge: Barron.
• Frings, G. (2002). Fashion: From Concept to Consumer (7th
ed.). Prentice-Hall.
• Newman, C. (2001). National Geographic: Fashion.
Washington: National Geographic Society.
• Seivewright, S. (2007). Basic Fashion Design: Research and
Design. Switzerland: AVA Publishing.