Maharashtra HSC Design & Colour flashcards
Maharashtra HSC Design & Colour · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Elements of design
- The basic visual components used to build any design: line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and colour. They are the raw material that principles organize.
- Principles of design
- The organizing rules applied to elements: balance, rhythm, proportion, emphasis, unity, contrast, and movement. They determine how a composition reads and holds together.
- Asymmetrical balance
- A composition balanced by unequal forms of differing size, value, or position whose visual weights offset each other. It feels dynamic yet stable, unlike mirror symmetry.
- Radial balance
- A composition in which elements radiate from a central point, as in a mandala, wheel, or flower. It creates focus at the centre and equal pull in all directions.
- Negative space
- The unoccupied area around and between subjects, also called ground. Careful shaping of negative space gives a composition breathing room and clarifies the subject's silhouette.
- Rule of thirds
- A compositional guide dividing the frame into a 3x3 grid; placing key elements near the intersections creates more tension and interest than centring them.
- Notan
- A Japanese-derived design exercise studying light-dark balance using only two or three flat values. It tests whether a composition works before colour and detail are added.
- Visual hierarchy
- The ordered sequence in which a viewer reads elements, controlled by relative size, contrast, colour, isolation, and position. It ensures the main message is seen first.
- Additive primaries
- Red, green, and blue light, which combine to produce white. Used in screens and stage lighting, they behave oppositely to pigment primaries.
- Subtractive primaries
- Cyan, magenta, and yellow pigments or inks, which subtract wavelengths from white light. Combined fully they approach black; black ink is added in four-colour printing.
- Complementary colours
- Two hues opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green. Placed together they heighten contrast; mixed together they neutralize toward grey.
- Munsell system
- A colour order system describing each colour by hue on a ten-step circle, value from 0 to 10, and chroma from neutral outward. It is widely used in art education.
- Simultaneous contrast
- The effect by which a colour appears altered by the colour surrounding it. A grey looks warm on blue and cool on orange, so colour must be judged in context.
- Tint, shade, tone
- Three value adjustments: a tint adds white to raise lightness, a shade adds black to darken, and a tone adds grey to reduce saturation while shifting value.
- Broken colour
- A colour dulled by mixing with its complement or with an earth colour. Broken colours look natural and are used to prevent a palette from appearing raw.
- Metamerism
- The phenomenon where two colour samples match under one light source but differ under another. It complicates colour matching in textiles, paint, and printing.
- Glazing
- Applying a thin transparent layer of colour over a dry underlayer. Light passes through and reflects back, producing luminous depth that opaque mixing cannot achieve.
- Gouache
- An opaque water-based paint made from pigment, gum arabic, and added white or chalk. It dries matte and flat, making it popular for design rendering and illustration.
- Binder in paint
- The medium that holds pigment particles together and adheres them to a surface. Gum arabic, linseed oil, egg yolk, and acrylic polymer are common binders.
- Fresco
- A wall-painting technique applying pigment to lime plaster. Buon fresco is painted on wet lime for permanence; fresco secco is painted on dry lime with a binder.
- Chiaroscuro
- The modelling of form through light and shadow, sequenced as highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow. It creates the illusion of three dimensions.
- Two-point perspective
- A drawing system where two sets of horizontal edges recede to two vanishing points on a shared horizon line. It is used for viewing a corner of an object or space.
- Foreshortening
- The apparent compression of an object or limb that points toward the viewer. Axes aligned with the line of sight shorten most, so proportions must be drawn as seen.
- Cross-contour line
- A line drawn across a form following its surface curvature, like lines of latitude on a sphere. It describes volume rather than outline.
- Block printing
- A relief printing method where a design is carved into wood or linoleum and the raised surface is inked and pressed onto cloth or paper. Designs must be cut in reverse.
- Batik
- A resist-dyeing technique in which molten wax is applied to cloth before dyeing. Waxed areas resist colour, and cracked wax produces characteristic fine veining.
- Half-drop repeat
- A pattern repeat in which each vertical column of motifs is offset by half the repeat height from the previous column. It avoids the visible grid of a straight repeat.
- Registration
- The precise alignment of successive printed or stencilled layers. Poor registration shows as gaps or overlaps at colour boundaries and spoils a multi-colour design.
- Buti and buta
- Indian textile terms for single motifs: buti is a small scattered motif, buta a larger single motif such as a paisley or flowering plant on a field.
- Stylization
- The reduction of natural forms to essential shape, rhythm, and pattern for design use. It simplifies detail while keeping the subject recognizable, unlike naturalistic copying.
- Nagara temple style
- The northern Indian temple form, marked by a curvilinear beehive-shaped shikhara above the sanctum and often a stepped, square plan. Contrasts with the southern dravidian form.
- Bidri ware
- A metalcraft from Bidar in Karnataka in which silver wire or sheet is inlaid into an alloy and the surrounding surface is blackened. It produces striking black-and-silver contrast.