principles of design

  rythm and movement

The words rythm and movement are often associated with music, dance and sports. We think of steady marching rhythms, drum beats and the pulsing sound of the bass on the radio as types of rhythms. The darting of soccer players, the graceful flow of ballet dancers and the artful dodging of basketball players emphasize movement. Art also has rhythm and movement, a visual rhythm; a rhythmic movement.

 

  balance

As humans we experience the need for balance in our everyday life. We use it as we walk or run and to carry things. Balance is also necessary in other ways. We need to balance our awake and sleeping periods, our food intake and energy exports, and relaxation and stress. Balance is also important to a work of art. A balanced artwork leaves the viewer feeling "visually comfortable". On the other hand, a work that is not balanced creates a sense of visual stress. And no one likes stress.

  proportion

The word "proportion" means one part in relation to another. All people have a sense of proportion concerning themselves as compared to others. "My nose is too long for my face". "She has long legs". "His eyes are wide-set." All of these comments reinforce the idea that we see and have opinions about the relationships between one thing compared to another. Artists use their sense of proportion to make statements or express a particular feeling about a subject in a work of art.

 

  dominance

Dominance relates to varying degrees of emphasis in design. It determines the visual weight of a composition, establishes space and perspective, and often resolves where the eye goes first when looking at a design. There are three stages of dominance, each relating to the weight of a particular object within a composition.

 

  harmony and unity

"Harmony" in music results in pleasing tones to the ears. "Harmony" in art results from a combination of related principles of design creating a pleasing work for the eye. "Unity" infers that the work of art is presented as a "whole". When a work of art has "unity", the viewer sees the work as a whole, not in separate sections.

Luck is the residue of design. 

 

 Branch Rickey - former owner of the Brooklyn Dodger Baseball Team