What is Line?

Catalog Covers by Cipe Pineles

Brochure spread by Gee + Chung Design Studio

Lecture Objectives

•Define LINE, as it applies to creative fields

•Describe the categories and different functions of line

•Identify visual characteristics and spatial dynamics of line

•Recognize line as a graphic organizer of information

•Strategically apply line in drawing and design applications

• An elongated dot or defined area created on a surface or computer screen• A mark longer than it is wide• A line generally has a starting point and ending point

Catalog Covers by Cipe Pineles

What is Line?

• A mark is a truncated, free-form fragment of a line (see top left image).

• A line is longer than it is wide; in essence, it is an elongated mark or dot (bottom left image).

• Line can have expressive qualities due to its visual characteristics from materials and methods:

• Materials can range from thin pencil to wide marker to a variable-width brush stroke

• Materials can applied lightly or with considerable pressure

• The physical method in which the designer applies the line can render it wavy, curvy, straight, broken, rigid, or jagged

How is Line different from a Mark?

• Line can also be divided into four different categories based on visual qualities and function

• The various categories of lines include:•Solid lines •Implied lines •Edges•Line of vision

The Four Categories of Line

• Solid line, also called graphic line or actual line, is the sort of line we are most familiar with

• Line can serve several functions:• Define areas or shapes• Visually organize a composition• Define images, letters or patterns• Express a feeling or spatial dymanic

through visual qualities• Direct the viewer’s eye

Implied Line

When a line is broken, or a series of marks or shapes create the suggestion of a line, then we’re talking about an IMPLIED LINE.

Implied line is the reason we can tell time on this watch, which uses strategically placed dots to indicate the hands and numbers

Implied line ties into visual perception; the human eye groups together similar marks and

shapes to perceive a greater whole

Implied line creates the pattern on this restaurant’s back wall

Where two edges of shapes meet, or where the edge of a shape meets a void, then a form of line is created by the edge

Edges as Line

PICASSO, Pablo: The Dream, 1932

Picasso’s painting to the right displays multiple types of line, including edges,solid, and implied line

• A line of vision is not a line at all, nor is it an edge or a connection between a series of marks

• Rather, a line of vision is the movement of a viewer’s eye as it scans a composition

• A line of vision can be created when a viewer’s eye follows a cue within the composition to look from one object to the next

• In the examples, note the connection between:• The dog and ball• The child and plate• The arrow shape and placement of the plane

• These are all examples of line of vision, also called imaginary line

• This type of line can be a powerful psychological tool, providing balance and emphasis in a composition

Line of Vision (Imaginary Line)

Categories of Line

Brochure cover and spread by Gee + Chung Design Studio

This brochure cover and spread illustrate all four categories of lines too – see if you can identify where each of them exist

Categories of Line

Brochure cover and spread by Gee + Chung Design Studio

• Actual line can be seen in the red printer’s marks and some of the symbols of the brochure cover

• Implied line can be found in the lines of the hand, the string of letters that make up the paragraphs of text, and several other places

• Edges can be found in the boundaries of the cover grid system, the red hand against the blue background, and several other places

• Line of vision is used here in the form of arrows, which is a symbol that directs the eye from one place to another in a composition

Linear Drawing: Outline vs. Contour

• In drawing, when using all lines or primarily line in drawing an object or within the composition, the design or style of the design is called linear

• A linear drawing featuring the edges of an object only is called an outline

• A linear drawing of all the edges of an object that includes both the outer and inner edges, is called a contour

Left – Outline, Right - Contour

Line, Value, Shape and Texture

• Line can vary according to its width, weight, shape, technique, color or texture

• Bundling lines together can gives an appearance of tone or value

• This is commonly referred to as hatching and cross-hatching lines

Albrecht Durer, Engraving, Circa 1600

• Albrecht Durer’s engraving featured here is a great example of the use of line and hatching to create value, texture, and shape

• Note that the lines are similar in width, weight, and color characteristics; it’s the technique of layering, hatching, and curving lines creates the illusion of depth and value

Line, Movement, and Speed

• Characteristics of a line affect the visual ‘speed’ and quality of movement.

• A smooth, solid and straight line may direct a viewer along quickly in the composition.

• A meandering, textured or rough line moves slower since a viewer needs more time to follow it.

• Notice how Hiroshige’s woodcut featured here utilizes multiple types of line to suggest the movement , speed, and depth of the ocean wave scene:

•Actual lines of variable widths suggest the activity of the whirlpool•Edges separate the foregroundshapes from background shapes•Implied lines of the birds Woodcut, The Whirlpools at Awa, by Ando Hiroshige

Line as a Graphic Organizer

• In typography, a line is called a rule

• In graphic software, rules are measured in point sizes, just like typography

• Rules generally follow a grid system; they are straight horizontal or vertical lines that separate and organize bodies of type in a single-page or multiple-page format

• Rules are excellent graphic organizers of large chunks of information

Line and Typography

• Typography is a form of implied line

• Consider a sentence as simply a string of small marks connected by the eye

• Typography exists upon a baseline, an invisible line on which all letters sit on

• Rotating this baseline can yield creative experimentation of line and type

• In the chess poster example, diagonal lines of type oppose the format

• The use of lines and edges mimic a chessboard, enhancing the poster messaging

Poster: Chess: The MusicalDesigner: Tarek Atrissi

Graphics in the EnvironmentDesigner: Tarek Atrissi

Line Direction and Format

• Horizontal and vertical lines follow a grid system, and also echo the edges of standard format

Vertigo Poster by Saul Bass

• These types of lines oppose most standard rectangular and square formats

• Diagonal, spiral, or radiating lines can also create the illusion of spatial depth in a composition

• This relates to the parallel and opposition strategies we discussed in format

• Grid systems create a sense of order in a format

• Lines that do not follow a grid system, such as diagonal, spiral, or radiating lines, create tension, movement, or a sense of action

• The location of line within a format can also produce illusions of spatial depth

• In the top image, note the thick lines tend to come forward in space, and thin lines seem to recede

• Short lines compared with long lines tend to communicate a sense of depth, as it mimics the way the human eye sees

• Lines that bleed off the edge, a strategy called cropping, suggests the lines go on infinitely

• This relates to the open composition topicwe discussed in the format lecture

Line Placement and Format

Line Summary

Line:• Is an elongated dot or defined area created on a surface or computer screen• Is a mark longer than it is wide• Generally has a starting point and ending point• Can be divided into four different categories based on visual qualities and function

• Can serve several functions:• Define areas or shapes• Visually organize a composition• Define images, letters or patterns• Express a feeling or spatial dynamic through visual qualities• Direct the viewer’s eye

• Can gives the appearance of value, shape, and texture when densely hatched together

• Is an essential graphic organizer in page layout and typographic design

• 4 Categories of Line: • Solid Line (Also referred to as actual line or graphic line)• Implied Line• Edges• Line of Vision (Also referred to as imaginary line)

• Characteristics of Line:• Visual: width, weight, technique, texture, color• Spatial: movement, direction, speed, distance, relation to format edges

• Graphic Organization: • Rules are typographic lines• Typography letterforms sit upon an invisible baseline• A string of typographic characters is a kind of implied line

• Linear Drawing types:• Outlines• Contours

Some material in this lecture references 2D Visual Basics for Designers by Robin Landa, Thomson Delmar Learning

Terms to Remember