Notebook

Notebook, 1993-

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Frame[s] of Reference


All elements of design normally exist within a boundary which we call a "frame of reference." This marks the outer limits of a design and defines an area within which the created elements and left-over blank space, if any, all work together. The frame of reference is not necessarily an actual frame. If it is, then the frame should be considered as an integral part of the design. The visual elements of the visible frame should not be overlooked. If there is no actual frame, the edges of a poster, the page of a magazine, the various surfaces of a package all become frame of references for the respective designs.

The frame of refence of a design can be of any shape, though it is usually rectangular. The die-cut shape of a printed sheet is the frame of reference of the design that is contained in it.

[Wong, Wucius. Principals of Two-Dimensional Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1972.]



Designing with representational forms can begin with a series of self-contained compositions--singular forms, plural forms, and/or compound forms that are established without a frame of reference. These might then be contained within specific frames of reference to help define spatial relationships.

[Wong, Wucius. Principals of Two-Dimensional Form. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1988.]



A design normally begins as an area that is bound by four edges at right angles to one another. These edges constitute the frame of reference, which has a shape of its own.

Within the frame of reference, a form or numerous forms can be introduced. A figure-ground situation thus emerges; forms are seen as figures, and the space behind forms and the space between them and the frame of reference as ground or background in the resulting composition. A composition is the visual effect that is generated by the interaction of figures and ground

Furthermore, the frame of reference provides scale--we get a sense of the size of forms--and establishes the positions and directions of elements.

It is possible to feature the same form [and the same shape] in different compositions. Notice how different compositions result from different frames of reference; how compositions look smaller when the frame of reference is large and how it can be cropped by the frame of reference when the form moves partially beyond its boundary.

[Wong, Wucius. Principals of Two-Dimensional Form. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1988.]



To help define spatial relationships
Designing with representational forms can begin with a series of self-contained compositions--singular forms, plural forms, and/or compound forms that are established without a frame of reference. These might then be contained within specific frames of reference to help define spatial relationships.

[Wong, Wucius. Principals of Two-Dimensional Form. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1988.]




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