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Visual Checks (Version 1)

• Vertical & Horizontal Alignment
"Do these two points line up with each other vertically (above one another) or horizontally (side-by-side)?"

• Angle, Spread
"What is the angle between these two lines? If there is no discernable angle, are they perfectly parallel (i.e.: of equal distance from each other throughout) or would they converge if extended? What is the angle of a line relative to the top/bottom and/or sides of the page, or to a set of imaginary perpendicular lines?"

• Width & Height
"What is the distance between these two lines (i.e.: the width between two vertical lines or the height between two horizontal lines)? What is the distance of a line from any of the edges of the page?"

• Length
"What is the length of a line relative to any other line or the page itself?"

• Arc
"What is the start point, end point, and apogee of the arc? Is the apogee closer to either the start point or end point? What is the amplitude (or height) of the arc?"

• Edge
"What is the outer boundary of a form? Do the lines/arcs that make it up curve (convex/concave), or are they straight?"

• Negative Space
"While focusing on the background, can you see the space around the form? What would the silhouette of the form look like?"

• Area (within Format)
"How much of the page does a particular form take up?"

• Area (of Positive Forms and Negative Spaces)
"What is the size of one shape relative to another shape? How many of the smaller one would fit within the area of the larger one?"

• Simplifcation
"Can the boundary of a form be simplified to some familiar shape (e.g.: a triangle, square, trapezoid, etc.)?"

The above checks have to do with how the forms within our visual field interact with each other and the format, whereas the following checks have to do with the objects themselves.

• Surface, Orientation
"Is the object sitting or standing upon some other object or surface? If so, what is the area that it takes up on that surface? If not, how far is it from a surface (real or imaginary)? How is it tilted relative to that surface? How are its different parts orientated relative to one another? If it was transparent, where would the parts you cannot see directly be located (i.e.: if you were "drawing through" the form)?"

• Movement
"In what direction is the form moving and how is it moving? Does it have points of articulation?"

• Structure
"Does the object have some underlying lattice, such as the bones within a human body? What would be like to take sections of it with imaginary planes? What would it be like to wrap lines along its surface, like a topogrpahic map (i.e.: "contours")?"