Chap 4 notes

Chapter 4 – Principles of Design

7 key principles of design –

Unity/Harmony and Variety -
- Unity is the appearance or condition of oneness. The design has the feeling of working together, creating a whole.
- Variety provides diversity to counter unity. Unity can be boring and variety can be chaotic, so a balance between them creates life.
- Pattern refers to repetitive ordering of design elements.

Balance – equal
- Symmetrical balance – near or exact matching of left and right sides of a 3D form or 2D composition. Permanence and poise, motionless and stable, formal and rigid
- Asymmetrical balance – left and right sides are not the same.
- Visual weight
- Radial balance – overall design in a circle

Movement creates the look and feel of action to guide the viewer’s eyes through the work of art. This can either be actual motion or it can be implied — the arrangement of the parts of an image to create a sense of motion by using lines, shapes, forms, and textures that cause the eye to move over the work.

Pattern - A two-dimensional decorative effect achieved through the repetition of colors, lines, shapes, and/or textures. Pattern is created by a regular or expected repetition. Patterns tend to have a flattening effect, which makes the space hard to read. The patterns clamor for attention, and almost seem to blend together.

Emphasis –
- Emphasis is used to draw our attention to an area. if that area is a specific spot or figure it is call the focal point. Position, contrast, color intensity, and size can all be used to create emphasis.
Focal point – draws the eye into the work of art – the first thing you see

Directional emphasis - are paths that lead the eye around the work of art by actual or implied lines. Implied directional lines may be suggested by a form’s axis, by imagined connections between similar or adjacent forms, or by the implied continuation of actual lines.
- Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circular
- Eye tracks

Contrast – the juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements. Dramatic effects can be produced when dark is set against light, large against small, bright against dull, rough against smooth.

Repetition and Rhythm –
- Repetition of visual elements gives a composition unity, continuity, flow and emphasis.
- Rhythm is created through a regular recurrence of elements with related variations.

Scale and Proportion –
- Scale is the size relative of one object to another.
- Proportion is the size relations of the parts to the whole.

Composition is the arrangement or organization of the visual elements; compositions can be symmetrical, pyramidal, heraldic, etc.

Two Dimensional – 2D
Painting
Drawing
Graphic Arts
Printmaking
Photography

Three Dimensional – 3D
Sculpture
Architecture