CHAPTER II 

 DESIGN 



COMPOSITION in any artistic work may be defined as the 

 putting together of lines, masses and colors, — for the purpose 

 of securing harmony. The first requirement for good com- 

 position is the arrangement of the several elements used in the design, 

 with the idea of their decorative value being secondary. A line may 

 be defined as the boundary of shape; a mass as the area within the 

 line. To understand well the requirements of a good design, we must 

 understand the relation of lines, masses, and colors. The fundamental 

 lines of a design are the lines of construction. 



In the early American architecture, especially in the colonial 

 house, we have a good illustration of the fundamental lines of con- 

 struction of the building employed as a decorative element in the 

 composition. The use of heavy timbers in the frame work of the 

 house, and the emphasis of these lines on the outside as a decorative 

 element in the composition, divides the space of the outside of the 

 building into pleasing areas. 



The first requirement of a composition of this kind is the spacing 

 of the main lines. The ground work or basis of the composition is 

 the spaces themselves, and their relation to each other. In a simple 

 garden plan in which the garden occupies a square, and the problem 

 is the arrangement of the walks and areas for the cultivation of flow- 

 ers, the number and width of the paths will determine the shape and 

 size of the flower beds. In this plan, which is essentially formal, we 

 have the emphasis on the lines. In the informal plan, in which we 

 have practically the same sized space divided up into areas which vary 

 in shape according to the location of the walks, we have the emphasis 

 on the spaces themselves, and the interest is here centered on the gen- 

 eral shape, size, and the location of the spaces with reference to each 

 other. 



