Principles of Design

Artist manipulate the elements of art to form compositions that have a certain unity. In trying to determine what holds an effective work together, theorists have

distinguished a number of principles that seem to be involved.

Repetition, Variety or Contrast, Rhythm, Balance, Compositional Unity, Emphasis, Economy, and Proportion.

These principles give us a basis for understanding how art works aesthetically.

Repetition

One of the basic ways that artist have unified their

designs is to repeat a single design element: a line, shape, form, texture, value, or color.

The repetition of a design element serves to give the

viewer a perception of order, thereby unifying the overall

composition.

Lucy T. Pettway, Birds in the Air, 1981.

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Agora, 2005. Cast Iron.

Jose Clemente Orozco, Zapatistas, 1931. Oil on canvas.

Guernica, oil on canvas by Pablo Picasso, 1937

Variety

Variety: Change rather than sameness in design elements.

Variety is often seen in the context of repetition or as the

companion of repetition. While repetition brings a kind of order, variety often serves

to “activate” an artwork, leading the viewer’s eyes from

place to place to survey the whole work.

Lance Wyman, logo for XIX Olympiad, 1966.

Variety

Another way in which variety is expressed is through transitions, or gradual changes from one state to another, a line may change in character, or a form may dissolve into unfilled space.

Also contrast, an abrupt change, is expressed in this painting.

Helen Frankenthaler, Essence Mulberry, 1977. Woodcut.

Jacopo Tintoretto, Leda and the Swan, Oil on canvas. 1570-75.

Rhythm

Rhythm: The visual equivalent of notes

and pauses in music, created by

repetition, variety, and spacing in a

design. Rhythm is similar to

repetition and serves the same

purpose; they sometimes go hand

in hand.

Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1131, "Whirls and Twirls", 2004

BalanceBalance: The distribution of

apparent visual weights through a composition. We subconsciously assign visual weight to parts of a work, and we tend to want the

parts to be distributed through the work in such a way that they seem

to balance each other.

Symmetrical Balance: Distribution of equal forces around a central

point or axis. If an imaginary vertical axis were drawn right

through the center of the piece, the two halves of the central

figure and the geometric animal extending to the sides would be exact mirror images balancing

each other.

Wood chest of the Haida people of Queen Charlotte Island, off the northwest coast of North America, 19th century.

Balance

• Elements may also be symmetrically arranged around a central point in all directions, in which case the composition may be referred to as radial balance.

Tibetan thangka, The Wheel of Life, 20th century, Tempera.

• When the weights of dissimilar areas counterbalance each other, the result is called asymmetrical.

Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, 1749. Oil on canvas

Sometimes artists violate the principle of balance intentionally to create tension in their works.

Nancy Graves, Trace, 1979

Compositional Unity

Compositional Unity: Compositional unity is

determined by the relationship of elements contained in a work. Sometimes a single

element (a shape or a color, for example) is used to create

the overall compositional unity; sometimes two elements are set up in

opposition, creating a kind of “energy of opposition” or

tension.

Pietro Perugino Italian, c. 1450 - 1523The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [right panel], c. 1482/1485

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Boating Party, 1881. Oil on Canvas.

Hagesandrus, Athenodorus, and Polydorus, Laocoon, first century, Marble.

Emphasis

Emphasis: Predominance of one area or element in a composition.The artist may want to emphasize a single area or element of design in a

composition, perhaps by setting up a focal point around which the rest of the elements are placed. However, when dealing with a pattern, equal emphasis may

be given to all parts through the repetition of a single design element.

EconomyEconomy: The use of as few

means as possible to achieve a desired visual result.

A work of art or a design might be effected through economy of

means by “presenting only the minimum of information needed by the viewer.” This approach is followed by graphic designers as

well as fine and applied artists who wish to convey the essence of

an idea as clearly as possible.

Liang Kai, The Poet Li Bo, 13 century. Ink on paper.

Economy

Graphic designers are challenged to suggest very complex forms or ideas with very few visual clues. A successful logo is a highly refined image that shows the nature of an entire group or corporation with an absolute minimum of marks.

Peter Good, logo for the Hartford Whalers Hockey Club, 1979.

Proportion

Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the various

elements in a design. The issue is the

relationship between objects, or parts, of a

whole. This means that it is necessary to

discuss proportion in terms of the context or

standard used to determine proportions.

John Singer Sargent, Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882

Our most universal standard of measurement is the human

body; that is, our experience of living in our own bodies. We

judge the appropriateness of size of objects by that measure.

Architectural spaces intended to impress are usually scaled to a

size that dwarfs the human viewer. This is a device often used in public spaces, such as

churches or centers of government. The same principle

is often applied to corporate spaces through which the

enterprise wishes to impress customers with its power and

invincibility.

Proportion

Claes Oldenburg, Clothespin, 1976.

Scale is the relative size of an artwork. The size of an artwork quite often affects how the art is viewed and interpreted by the audience.

Do-Ho SuhPublic Figures, 2001Glass fiber reinforced resin, bronze, steel structure. 2094 x 2748 x 2840 cm

“Let’s say if there’s one statue at the plaza of a hero who helped or protected our country, there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who helped him and worked with him, and there’s no recognition for them. So in my sculpture, ‘Public Figures,’ I had around six hundred small figures, twelve inches high, six different shapes, both male and female, of different ethnicities." - Do-Ho Suh

William BlakeThe Vision of the Last JudgmentPen and watercolor,510 x 395 mm1808