There are only 4 Basic Elements of Design. Seriously.

If you’ve already read up on architecture before or consider yourself to be some sort of design aficionado, I invite you to empty your cup and be a little kid again. Sometimes our minds overcomplicate our conceptions, which makes us more closed off to learning. All preconceived notions gone? Good. Now, understand this simple truth:

Designing only has four basic elements. Point, Line, Plane, and Volume.

No, an elliptic paraboloid is not a basic element of design – that’s merely a kind of volume. Nor is a pulse of light with a wavelength of 652 nanometers a basic element of design – that’s merely a line.

Looking around you, you can find that in the context of design, everything around you can be viewed as one of the 4 basic elements.
The Washington monument is a distinct and significant point in the US Capital. Your local train line is just that- a transportation line traversing a set linear path. Central Park is a plane within New York City, where city-dwellers go for much needed green intimacy. Your body is a volume that must be manipulated in a riveting game of twister.

In a nutshell, these four are all we work with. You don’t need to make your life any harder than it needs to be.

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