lineartime

Lineartime is a term used in visual art and information design to describe a technique that expresses temporal progression through line-based imagery. It blends line art with time-oriented encoding, using the visual language of contours, motion lines, and repetition to represent sequences, durations, or tempo within a single composition or across a series.

Characteristically, lineartime favors clean silhouettes, limited shading, and a restrained color palette. Time is encoded via manipulable visual variables such as line weight, density, spacing, curvature, and the repetition of motifs. Longer lines or denser line fields may indicate longer durations, while the arrangement along a path or grid encodes sequence.

Techniques commonly include sequential line layering, hatch or cross-hatching to suggest overlapping moments, and motion cues drawn through parallel line rails or trailing edges. Artists may also use color sparingly to highlight temporal anchors, while keeping the core line system readable at small scales.

Lineartime emerged as a niche concept in indie comics, motion design, and infographic art communities in the early 21st century. It has no formal standard, but practitioners share workflows and references online, refining rules of thumb for legibility and temporal clarity.

See also: line art, timeline, data visualization, sequential art.