tness to purpose is largely a mechanical factor. An ugly building may
protect its occupants from the weather, and an ugly printed page may be
entirely legible. Beauty depends upon esthetic qualities; that is, upon
the characteristics of the design which will appeal to the eye and mind
through the consideration of--

Harmony (of shape, tone, color, and conception).

Balance and proportion (of mass, shape, and color).

Rhythm (of shape, line, tone, and color).

This conception of the elements of design covers all of the many things
that mankind makes--buildings, or railroad trains, or sculpture, or
paintings, or pottery, or furniture, or the printed page alike. In each,
different though they be, the purpose of design is to relate the various
surfaces, masses, and structural lines and to decorate or ornament the
finished whole. Countless materials may be used and all the varied
purposes of the equipment of mankind must be satisfied, but the
application of the principles of design will be similar throughout. This
point is emphasized so that the student of printing may find a common
ground with the workers in all the fine and useful arts.

_The Surface_

In the printed page, design is concerned with the arrangement of masses
and lines on a flat surface--the face of the sheet of paper. Hence
design in printing considers two dimensions only, width and length. The
third dimension, depth, which must be treated in all but flat surfaces,
can only be _represented_ on the printed page and the means of showing
depth is really an illusion by which the eye sees various colors and
tones which convey a pictorial impression.

It is important to note that _design_ and _pictorial representation_
serve each a different purpose in printing. Yet they are similar
mechanically in that each requires a printing surface (type, borders,
ornaments, and engravings) which may be prepared by the same mechanical
procedures. The picture exists for its own interest or as an
illustration for the text. As such it is merely an element in the design
of the page. Decoration or ornament may be used to embellish the page,
as a pattern on its flat surface, and may be related to the text, but
need not serve as an illustration to it.

[Illustration: Fig. 1. A design of flat surfaces and a realistic pen
sketch of the same subject.]

As an example: Much of the material devised for the decoration of the
printed page (ornaments and borders