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SubjectFree lesson

Elements and principles of arts and design

ClassNotes Team 4 MIN READUPDATED 28 JUN 2026

WEEK: 2

TOPIC: Elements and principles of arts and design

Objectives

At the end of this Module, Pupils should be able to:

  • State the meaning of elements of design.
  • List elements of design.
  • List the principles of design.
  • State the meaning of the principles of design.
  • List principles of design.

LEARNING MATERIALS

  • Pencil
  • Drawing book
  • Different colours
  • Artworks
  • Explanatory posters/pictures
  • Explanatory Video

CONTENT

Meaning of element of design

Elements of design are tools used to create works of art. These are lines, texture, shapes, value, colour and space. These elements work together to create a composition.

The element of design is

  1. Line:  it is straight or curved or zig-zag length without breadth or thickness.it is the trace of a moving point. The line can be diagonal, horizontal or vertical. It appears in the middle of the design and shows the direction of a design to communicate the mood and feeling of an artwork.
  2. Texture: it is the appearance of a surface having a sense of touch. The surface could be a drawing or design that is smooth, hard, soft, or rough.
  3. Colour: it helps to create the mood of a design. Different colours are used to represent different things like black shows sadness, purple and blue shows calmness and peace, and red colour shows Danger.
  4. Space: it is a blank area on paper that separates one object from the other space. It can be positive or negative space. It is the creation of space in the creation of drawing as if they have three sides using perspective.
  5. Value: it is the amount of light and dark in a work of art. It can make parts of a drawing appear more important than others, and it helps to create depth on a flat surface.

Principles of Design

Principles of design state the way we arrange the element of art to create a work of art.

A good work of art should contain more than one or more of the principles mentioned earlier.

The following are elements of the principles of design

Harmony: it is the arrangement of art elements in a pleasing way.

  1. Variety and Contrast:  it is the use of various sizes of objects, various colours and various textures to add beauty to the work of art.
  2. Movement: it is the art of creating repeated use of lines, shapes, values, textures and colours either in regular or irregular patterns.
  3. Balance: is achieved when the art elements are arranged so that the whole work of art looks stable or balanced.
  4. Dominance: it is the most focused area in the work of art.it is called the Focal points. It is making one object or element bigger and more important than any other thing in a work of art.
  5. Composition: it is the organization of the elements of art in a work of art.

PRESENTATION

  • The Teacher revises the previous lesson (Meaning and Definition of Arts  )
  • The Teacher introduces the topic: Elements and principles of arts and design.
  • She/he explains the element of art and designs deeply for the pupils.
  • He/she mentions and explains the principles of design.
  • The teacher leads pupils to mention the element of arts and design and the principles of design.
  • The pupils copy and submit their notes for marking.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: the students draw and colour artwork of their choice using the element of design and identify the principles of design.

EVALUATIVE ACTIVITIES

Instruction: Answer the following questions below.

  • What is a principle of design?
  • Mention the five elements of design in an artwork.
  • Mention three types of lines.
  • Mention five principles of design.

CONCLUSION: the teacher sums up the lessons and marks the pupil's notes.