Composition is the organization of ideas and elements. Such elements could be compounds, components, position, compromise, comparison, complex, and/or contrast. Composition can be found in writing, nature, dance, theatre, and visual arts.
The basic elements of design are as follows:
Point, line, shape/form, color/hue, texture, space, and value/shade
These elements share the similarities of harmony and rhythm. Harmony could include discord, contrast, clashing, suspense, and anticipation. This is what keeps us interested in a story line.
Gestalt Theory:
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Proximity:
Creates tension, increases distance, creates an idea, is the way things relate
Continuance:
Lines of direction, shortcuts
Similarity:
The difference, holds form together
Closure:
The whole, completes the idea
Form vs. Meaning:
A form is the sum total of an object's physical characteristics. Meaning and/or content is what the forms do and what you already know about the form.
At the end of the class we were assigned two projects that I believe will help me to understand and remember these concepts more thoroughly. These projects are the Cardboard Nature Project and the Dot Dot Dot/square/text as nature/and the human element project.
