1. Design Principles (Part 2): Balance, Rhythm, Pattern, Emphasis, Movement, Unity & Variety

2. How to Be a Wicked Witch, Book Cover by Dennis Clouse
Balance – is the visual weight of an image.
How to Be a Wicked Witch, Book Cover by Dennis Clouse

3. Different Types of Balance
Symmetrical Balance: - an even placement of visual weight in the design
Asymmetrical Balance: - creates uneven spaces, a sense of imbalance & tension - gives a dynamic suggestion of visual movement - space and shapes don’t need to be evenly dispersed on a page
Radial Symmetry: - relates to images emitting from a point (Ex: like ripples from a pebble tossed into a pond)

4. Symmetrical Balance – The vertical axis is the implied center
of gravity. Forms on either side of the axis correspond to one
another other in size, shape and placement.
Tibetan Mandala – “world in harmony”
Deer’s Skull with Pedernal, Georgia O’Keeffe, 1936

5. The Two Fridas, Frida Kahlo, 1939
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
The Two Fridas, Frida Kahlo, 1939

6. Death and Life, Gustav Klimt, 1911
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
2 sides do not match, but the image seems to be well balanced because the visual weight in the two halves is similar.
Death and Life, Gustav Klimt, 1911

7. Why is Balance Important?
Balance is vital. A design can be ruined by poor balance!
Balance should not be 50/50 in a boring mathematical sense. Different elements should add up to balance.
How to Achieve Balance?
Colors: all colors have visual weight Baby Blue = Light; Brown = Heavy

8. Shapes: squares can appear heavier than circles, etc.
How to Achieve Balance?
Shapes: squares can appear heavier than circles, etc.
Lines: thick lines appear heavier than thin lines
Size: larger = heavier

9. ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE 1. A textured form appears heavier than a smooth
form of the same size.
2. Two or more small
shapes can balance
a larger one.

10. ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE 3. A complex form is visually
heavier than a simple one
of the same size.
4. A smaller darker form
can balance a larger
light form.

11. How do you achieve balance if you don’t place objects in the center?
Apply the Rule of Thirds a) create a grid that tri-sects the image horizontally and vertically
b) objects should be put at points where lines intersect
c) objects should be aligned along common axis

12. Rhythm – is the repetition of visual movement: colors, shapes or lines.
Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and active, and to avoid monotony. Movement and rhythm work together to create the visual equivalent of a musical beat.
Nude Descending a Staircase,
Marcel Duchamp, 1912

13. Through repetition any visual element
can take on a rhythm within a work.
“UCLA” Brochure & “Earth Day” Cover, Paul Rand, 1993

14. Target Store Advertising

15. Pattern – uses the art elements in planned or random repetitions to enhance visual surfaces.

16. Westinghouse Ad, Paul Rand
Visual Movement – used by artists to direct viewers through their work, often to a focal area.
Westinghouse Ad, Paul Rand

17. Movement in Graphic Design – also known as flow.
Flow is the combination of elements to guide the viewer around the design in the correct direction. It begins and ends with the dominant element to help keep the eye moving constantly around the design.

18. Why is Movement Important?
- Helps to insure that the viewer sees everything in the correct order
- Helps to retain viewer’s interest and attention for a period of time
How to Achieve It?
Lines: The eye will naturally follow lines from start to end
Text: Create emphasis using headlines
Shapes: Use repetition

19. Poster designed by Cassandre,
1924

20. - can create visual excitement - can help add interest to the work
Contrast – refers to differences in values, colors, textures, shapes, & other elements
- can create visual excitement - can help add interest to the work
If all the art elements - value, for example - are the same, the result is monotonous & unexciting.

21. Still Life with Apples and Peaches, Paul Cezanne, 1905, oil on canvas
Find 8 Different Types of Contrast Below
Still Life with Apples and Peaches, Paul Cezanne, 1905, oil on canvas

22. 8 Types of Contrast (Ex: Cezanne’s work):
- intricate pattern vs. no pattern
- hard edge vs. soft edges
- dark, middle and light values
- pure colors vs. muted colors
- cool colors vs. warm colors
- textured surface vs. smooth surface
- organic shapes vs. geometric shapes
- large shapes vs. small shapes

23. Contrast in Graphic Design…

24. Emphasis – our attention is drawn to certain parts of the composition or one area.
Focal Point – when the emphasis is on a relatively small, clearly defined area.
Subordination – certain areas of the image are purposefully made less interesting to allow other, more important areas to stand out.

25. Emphasis – What is It Used For?
- Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance and focus in their work.
- Artists can emphasize color, value, shapes, or other art elements to achieve dominance.
- Various kinds of contrast can be used to emphasize a center of interest.

26. Still Life with Compotier, Pitcher, and Fruit, Paul Sezanne, 1892-94

27. Emphasis – Why is it Important?
Helps to create a specific start point on the design and, thus, let the viewer know where to start looking/reading.
Helps the viewer to follow the correct direction, get information in the correct order, etc.
It gets the viewer’s attention.

28. “Amelie” Movie Poster

29. Emphasis – What to Avoid?
Be careful that your dominant element doesn’t
overwhelm the whole image. Too much dominance
and the viewer will see nothing else.
Many dominant features in a view tend to be distracting; the eye is drawn from one to another without the opportunity to focus on one major element.

30. American Gothic, Grant Wood, 1930
UNITY
Unity is a sense of oneness, of things belonging together and making up a coherent whole.
Visual Unity (based on color, shape, etc.)
American Gothic, Grant Wood, 1930

31. CONCEPTUAL UNITY - elements are unified through a unity of ideas.
The Hotel Eden, Joseph Cornell, 1945, assemblage

32. - the purpose of the object unifies the design.
CONCEPTUAL UNITY
- the purpose of the object unifies the design.

33. Steven Heller The Anatomy of Design