The Principles of Design

Chapter 8

Design

Design: The act of organizing the visual elements to effect a desired aesthetic in a work of art.

The principles of design are a natural part of our perception; i.e. good taste.

Design is also known as composition.

Marc Chagall, La Mariee, 1950.

The 5 Major Categories of Design

Unity and Variety

Balance

Emphasis and Subordination

Repetition and Rhythm

Scale and Proportion

UNITY and VARIETY

Unity is oneness or wholeness, of things belonging together to create a coherent whole.

Unity is achieved by maintaining a constant visual element.

What visual elements provide the unity in this work?

Tony Smith, Die.

UNITY and VARIETY

Unity is oneness or wholeness, of things belonging together to create a coherent whole.

Unity is achieved by maintaining a constant visual element.

Variety is diversity, which provides visual interest.

Robert Rauschenberg, Gift for Apollo.

UNITY and VARIETY

What visual elements have been used to create unity? To create variety?

Archibald Motley, Jr, Saturday Night, 1935.

BALANCE

Balance refers to the even distribution of weight in a composition. Visual balance is achieved through: Symmetry

Asymmetry

Radial balance

Some artists will NOT balance a work if the content deals with instability, discomfort, or a sense of whimsy.

The Rasin Building in Prague…does not appear to be balanced!

Symmetrical Balance

Symmetry occurs when everything on the left and right side of the artwork is the same.

Absolute symmetry: both sides are identical

Absolute symmetry is often seen in architecture meant to embody stability, order, and grandeur.

US Capitol Building, 19th century.

Symmetrical Balance cont.

Symmetry occurs when everything on the left and right side of the artwork is the same.

Relieved symmetry: when forms on either side of an axis correspond to each other, but the correspondence is not exact.

Georgia O’Keefe, Deer’s Skull with Pedernal.

Asymmetrical Balance

Asymmetrical balance: when the two sides of the composition do not match.

Nonetheless, there is still an equal distribution of visual weight.

How is this achieved? PRACTICE. It is balanced when it looks balanced.

Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1664.

Asymmetrical Balance: You do not need to memorize these, but keep them

handy for your formal analysis assignment.

1. Larger forms are heavier and more attractive than smaller forms.

2. Forms have more visual weight at the edge of a picture.

3. Complex forms are heavier than a simple form.

4. Warm colors are heavier than than cool colors.

5. Warm colors advance and cool colors recede.

6. Saturated colors are heavier than tints/shades.

Asymmetrical Balance

Gustave Klimt,

Death and Life, 1915.

Asymmetrical Balance

What is balancing the dark metal of the animal’s body?

Debrorah Butterfield, Verde, 1990.

Radial Balance

Radial balance: When everything radiates out from a central point.

Rose Window, south transept, Chartres.

EMPHASIS and Subordination

Emphasis focuses the viewer’s attention on one or more parts of a composition.

Achieved through shape, intense value/color, contrast, and/or directional lines.

Subordination is when an artist creates neutral areas of little interest.

Oskar Schlemmer, Bauhaus Stairway,

1932.

Emphasis and Subordination

Goya, Executions of the Third of May, 1808, painted in 1814-1815.

RHYTHM

Rhythm is an orderly progression, usually based in Repetition. Rhythm can be present even if there is a slight variation in repetition.

Ogata Korin, Cranes, Japanese Edo Period.

RHYTHM

Lorna Simpson, Still from Easy to Remember, 2001.

SCALE

Scale: Refers to Size

Scale is the relative size of an object compared with others of its kind, its setting, or human dimensions.

Claes Oldenburg, Clothespin, 1976.

See also Fig. 5.17

Proportion

Proportion: the size relationship or ratio of parts to a whole.

Which human(s) seem to be proportionate? Which ones are not in proportion?

After this lecture you should be able to:

Define the 5 major principles of design and identify them in the works presented.

Discuss the principles of design that make an artwork easy to read.