Design Principles Week 8 (bis)

We can group all of the basic tenets of design into two categories:

Elements Principles

The ELEMENTS OF DESIGN are the components of design themselves, the objects to be arranged.

They are the structure of the work, and can carry a wide variety of messages.

The ELEMENTS OF DESIGN are:

Point

Line

Form, shape and space

Pattern and texture

The PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN refer to the organization of a work of art.

They affect the arrangement of objects within a composition.

The PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN are:

Rhythm

Scale & Proportion

Dominance

Unity

Balance

Movement

Balance is the arrangement of the objects in a given design as it relates to their visual weight within a composition.

It is an equilibrium that results from looking at images and judging them against our ideas of physical structure (such as mass, gravity).

Balance in a design aims to distribute the visual weight of element so that they appear to be in equilibrium.

Definition of Balance

Visual interest is what you balance in design.

Different colors, shapes sizes, value, texture etc. create different degrees of interest.

It is the distribution of this interest that you need to control-- what is where in a composition.

Balance is a skill that everyone uses almost all of their waking hours.

It is balance that allows you to stand up and walk around. (You, hopefully, find a balance between your academic and social life.)

Your physical sense of balance will play a part in your ability to balance the visual information in a composition.

We use Balance as a way of controlling gravity.

There are different types of visual Balance and artists use these types to create works that convey a particular message or idea to a viewer.

Types of balance.

Colour balance: a small area of bright colour can be used to balance a much larger area of dull / neutral colour.

Value balance: a small area of black may be used to balance a much larger area of white or grey.

Shape balance: a smaller complicated shape can be used to balance a larger simple shape.

Texture balance: a smaller textured object can be used to balance a larger, untextured (smooth) object.

Position / Isolation balance: a small graphic placed in close proximity to the edges of the composition can balance a larger graphic placed in the center of the composition.

Balance by eye movement: when the viewer’s eye moves around the composition from element to element, balanced is maintained via continuity. The viewer’s eye is directed from element to element by lines (implied, invisible, actual), or by shapes that point to one another.

Symmetrical balance: when the same, identical shapes are placed in exactly the same position on a vertical axis, symmetrical balance occurs (mirror image). Also called ‘formal balance’ since it characterizes the following: stability; proportion; regularity; inactivity; order; a planned look; rigidity; fixed simplicity –

Horizontalsymmetry

Near-symmetrical balance: almost identical shapes are placed in almost the same position on either side of a vertical axis.

Approximatehorizontal symmetry

Asymmetrical balance: balance is achieved with dissimilar shapes that have equal visual weight or eye attraction. Also called ‘informal balance’ since it characterizes the following: dynamics; movement; diversity; randomness; less planned look; and, it is not fixed.

Asymmetry

Asymmetrical balance: balance is based on equal eye attraction-

Dissimilar objects are equally interesting to the eye

Value difference

Colour difference

Balance by shape

Balance by Texture and Pattern

So, Formal Balance usually is achieved by the artist placing objects in the work in a symmetrical or equal-sided arrangement.

Informal Balance is created when an asymmetrical layout is used.

There is also Radial Balance (flowers, Sun…)

Symmetrical Balance

• Horizontal and Vertical Placement

• The layout will looks safe and calm

Symmetrical

SYMMETRYSymmetry means a mirror image --one side is the mirror image of the other.

The image is the same on either side of the central axis.

We are symmetrical after all -- two eyes, two ears, etc.

Look around at consumer products and graphics (printed materials) to see how many use symmetry.

Symmetrical balance occurs when the weight of a composition is evenly distributed around a central vertical or horizontal axis. Under normal circumstances it assumes identical forms on both sides of the axis.

To walk, ride a bike, etc. we must have exactly the same weight on both sides of our bodies.

Our axis of symmetry is vertical and this makes a good model for symmetry in visual information.

Symmetrical balance is also called formal balance because a form (formula) is used -- a mirror image about a vertical axis. The results look formal, organized and orderly.

There is a strong emphasis on the center axis in symmetry since all of the information is reflected from there. It is easy to over emphasize the center.

Top to bottom balance is also important.

Most images seem more stable if the bottom seems slightly heavier. If the top seems too heavy the composition can look precarious.

Balance between the center and the outsides of the image must also be considered.

Fortunately our own sense of balance is usually good enough to feel when the balance in a composition is wrong.

Your sense of balance, like anything else, can be improved with practice and experience.

Symmetrical works can be divided in half with an imaginary "Line Of Symmetry". Both sides are mirror images of the other. What you see on one half, you see on the other in a reversed order, like a "mirror image".

Objects in the real world are rarely symmetrical, a close examination will reveal slight differences from one side to the other. Near symmetry or approximate symmetry is more true to life.

Folding line

UNITY AND VARIETYSymmetrical images have a strong sense of unity because at least half of the image is repeated. But at the same time they lack variety because only half is unique.

A biaxial image is only unique in one fourth of its format since that fourth is repeated in all the corners.

In other words symmetrical images are usually well balanced and formal with good unity, but can lack excitement since they are so repetitive.

Variety is wanted to generate interest and to give the artist more freedom.

Asymmetrical Balance

Asymmetry

• Asymmetry means without symmetry.

• That by itself has nothing to do with balance. It just means that there are no mirror images in a composition

Asymmetrical

Different textures but same weight Same texture but different shapes

Asymmetrical

In attempting to balance elements asymmetrically, we are using combination of many attributes

– shape, texture, color, value, position, and direction –

to distribute visual interest around the canvas so that the overall effect is one of equilibrium.

Madonna Enthroned, by Masaccio; 1426

Madonna Enthroned, by Masaccio; 1426

Many early religious paintings are symmetrical, with al attention focused on a central figure, while subsidiary figures at the sides will generally emphasize this focal point by looking or gesturing toward the central axis.

Being off-balance makes us feel uneasy and apprehensive.

A painting or sculpture with more appearing to be going on to one side of the composition than the other is said to be asymmetrical.

An asymmetrical design need not to be unbalanced, however.

Generally we reach balance with shapes and forms of similar size but other factors such as value, color, and texture, will also come into play.

Fine Wind, Clear Morning by Katsushika Hokusai 1830s.

The mass of the mountain is balanced by the texture of the whiteclouds. Japanese prints are rarely symmetrical.

Early RenaissanceEarly Renaissance

Madonna and Saints,by Bellini; 1505

Madonna and Saints,by Bellini; 1505

Madonna with Members of the Pesaro Family, by Titian; 1526 (oil on canvas)

Madonna with Members of the Pesaro Family, by Titian; 1526 (oil on canvas)

High RenaissanceHigh Renaissance

James Whistler (American)1834-1903, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother , 1871; Oil on canvas, 144.3 x 162.5 cm; Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Is this an example of Formal Balance? Is this an example of Formal Balance?

James Whistler 1834-1903, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother , 1871;

This is an example of Informal Balance.

The large form of the woman is "visually equal" to the black curtain and white painting on the wall.

This makes the painting appear balanced, though the composition is more relaxed and less stiff than if the woman had been placed in the exact center of the canvas.

Here the larger figures to the right are balanced by the many smaller figures to the left. Also, Seurat add additional "light" to the left.

How does this add balance to the painting?

George Seurat, (French) 1859-1891, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte, 1884,

The Death of Marat 1793Oil on canvas, 162 x 128 cmMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

Turner, The Fighting “Temeraire” 1838 Oil on canvas 35x48.

The old ship is balanced by the dramatic sun set. The thick paint of the sun’s rays is balances by the meticulously renedered ships.

Radial Balance• It has speedy feeling. Example: sun ray

Radiation

This is an example of Radial Balance. Consider looking for a spiral or spinning effect of the pattern. The axis is the center point and the design or pattern appears to "radiate" from that point.

Nature contains many examples of radial designs as does manufactured objects that are usually round in shape, i.e. wheels, plates, and fans.This is known as a rose window. It is made up of pieces of stained glass held together by lead. The ornate dark areas are made of concrete and are called a tracery.

Rose Window, Notre Dame Cathedral, c. 1150, Stained Glass, Paris, France