1. Understanding the Design Elements
Floral Design
Understanding the Design Elements

2. Interest Approach
Take a look at the examples of floral designs on your desk. Compare and contrast these arrangements with your neighbor. Look at the shape, color, texture and size. Try to visualize the same arrangements in a different color or size. Would the arrangements have the same visual effect? Why or why not?

3. Student Objectives
1. List and describe the major forms (or shapes) used in floral design.
2. Explain how space and depth enhance floral design.
3. Describe the importance of texture in floral design.
4. Explain how color influences floral work.

4. Vocabulary Advancing color Analogous Color wheel Complimentary Depth
Design elements
Filler flowers
Form
Form flowers
Free form
Geometric
Line
Line materials
Mass flowers
Monochromatic
Naturalistic
Polychromatic
Primary colors

5. Vocabulary Cont. Receding colors Secondary colors Shape Space
Tertiary colors
Texture

6. What Are the Major Forms or Shapes Used in Floral Design?
Floral arrangements are composed of flowers, greenery and containers
The physical characteristics that the designer uses to create the arrangements are called design elements
Form and shape are the first two design elements

7. Form refers to the 3-dimensional outline of the arrangement
Shape is the 2-dimensional term for form
The common forms used in floral design are: geometric, naturalistic and free form
Geometric shapes are most often circles or triangles
Can be varied into ovals, fans, crescents, right triangles, isosceles triangles and asymmetrical triangles
Naturalistic designs mirror the natural plant growth; Include groupings of plant material, using branches to symbolize trees and shorter flowers the undergrowth

8. All forms of arrangement are created through the use of lines
Free form arrangements are more contemporary; Very creative and do not have any particular design rules
All forms of arrangement are created through the use of lines
Line is the visual movement between two points in an arrangement
Placement creates shape and expresses emotions
Can be created through the use of line material
Line materials (like snapdragon, liatris and scotch broom) are used to create definite vertical, horizontal, diagonal or curvilinear lines

9. Design Forms
Courtesy of Delmar Publishing

10. The remainder of the arrangement is created through the combination of form, mass and filler flowers
Form flowers are those with distinctive shapes
Ex. Orchids, lilies
Mass flowers are round, solid flowers
Ex. Mums, carnations, roses
Filler flowers are light, airy flowers that fill in the space between other flowers
Ex. Baby’s breath, sea foam statice
Have the students look at examples of floral arrangements and decide what form each arrangement follows.
See if they can pick out the types of flowers used as form, mass and filler flowers.

11. How Do Space and Depth Enhance Floral Design?
The areas in the design that have no flowers are just as important as the flowers themselves
Areas devoid of flowers are called space
It is important for designers to leave space in their arrangements
Space increases the apparent size of a design by adding space and depth to the design

12. Depth gives the arrangement more of a three dimensional form than just a shape
Achieved by tucking flowers in further so they are partially hidden; and dangling flowers upward or to the side
Space makes the arrangement appear to be larger even though no more materials are used; Occurs if the flowers are placed away from each other
Helps to save money by creating a larger, more expensive-looking design
Adds more interest in the design

13. How Is Texture Important in Floral Design?
Floral designers can create visually attractive arrangements by combining plant material with different textures
Texture is the design element that refers to the surface quality of the plant material
Plant material can be rough, smooth, leathery, velvety, satiny or hairy
It can also have visual texture - fine, airy, lacy, delicate, bold or coarse
By varying textures in a design, it will attract attention and hold the viewer’s interest

14. Looking at the pictures to the right, describe the textures of each of the flowers
Courtesy of Delmar Publishing

15. How Does Color Influence Floral Work?
Color is probably the most obvious design element
An arrangement can lose its appeal if the colors are not striking
Color contributes to people’s feelings
They have also influenced occasions or events
For example, red symbolizes love; Orange symbolizes Halloween

16. Colors and Emotions/occasions

17. The color wheel is made up of primary, secondary and tertiary colors
Primary = red, blue, yellow
Secondary = orange, green, violet
Two primary colors combined
Tertiary = one primary combined with one secondary color
Names are always hyphenated
For example blue-green, orange-red
There are six color schemes that designers can use to create beautiful arrangements
Created by the combination of one or more colors

18. Color Schemes
Have students separate floral arrangement pictures into the various color schemes to reinforce the concepts.

19. Monochromatic Analogous Complimentary Triadic ex. Blue & orange
Courtesy of Delmar Publishing

20. Polychromatic
Split-Complimentary
Courtesy of Delmar Publishing

21. Advancing colors move towards the viewer
No matter what color scheme is used, remember they are viewed differently depending on what colors they are combined with
Advancing colors move towards the viewer
For example yellow, red and orange
Receding colors disappear into the background
For example violet, blue and green
Mention to the students examples of where this is important to keep in mind. For example, you would not want to use all purple and blue flowers on a church altar. The people in the back would not be able to see them.

22. Summary List the twelve design forms.
How is a geometric form different from a naturalistic one?
Describe the difference between form, mass and filler flowers. Give an example of each.
How can depth and space enhance a design?
What is texture? Why should you vary the texture in an arrangement?
Name the three primary and secondary colors.

23. Summary Cont. How do you create a tertiary color?
Using the color wheel, give an example of each of the color schemes.
What are advancing colors? Receding colors?