Post on 30-Oct-2014
Two-Dimensional Design
Using the Principles of Design to Organize Compositions
The Elements of Design The basic ingredients the artist uses separately or in combination to
produce visual imagery.
LINE
SHAPE
TEXTURE
VALUE
COLOR
SPACE
TIME AND MOTION
The Principles of Design
Concepts that guide the arrangement, organization and integration of the elements in achieving a sense of visual order and overall visual unity.
UNITY & VARIETY
BALANCE
RHYTHM
SCALE & PROPORTION
EMPHASIS & FOCAL POINT
UNITY & VARIETY
UNITY
The oneness or wholeness in a design that occurs when all parts work together to create a cohesive whole. Unity implies HARMONY.
VARIETY
The differences that give a design visual and conceptual interest. Variety can be used within Unity to interrupt the harmony of a design with an element that strays from the dominant composition.
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, 1962, silkscreen
PROXIMITY
The distance between elements. Placing images or elements close to one another in a composition.
Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930, Oil on board
Ways of achieving Unity & Variety
PROXIMITY
Keith Haring, section of fresco in Pisa, Italy, 1989
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using Proximity to create Unity/Variety
REPETITION
The use of the same visual element, effect or shape a number of times in the same composition.
Diego Rivera, Flower Festival: Feast of Santa Anita, 1931, Encaustic on canvas
Ways of achieving Unity & Variety
REPETITION
Print Ad for Surfrider Foundation
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using Repetition to create Unity/Variety
CONTINUITY
A fluid connection between compositional parts.
Ways of achieving Unity & Variety
Frank Stella, York Factory II, 1974, Screenprint
CONTINUITY
Delilah Montoya, Los Jovenes (Youth), 1993, Collotype
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using Continuity to create Unity/Variety
THE GRID
The grid creates a visual network; a framework around which images can be organized.
David Hockney, Yellow Guitar Still Life, 1982, Polaroid Collage
Ways of achieving Unity & Variety
Grids are the organizing structures for many patterns.
Wallpaper patterns Tile patterns
THE GRID
THE GRID
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1991, Oil on canvas
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using The Grid to create Unity/Variety
COLOR and VALUE
Complex designs can be unified through color and value.
Ways of achieving Unity & Variety
Image from Sunset Magazine
COLOR
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using Color to create Unity/Variety
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937, Oil on canvas
VALUE
UNITY / VARIETY
Student sample image using Value to create Unity/Variety
BALANCE
BALANCE
An equilibrium among interacting and/or opposing forces in a visual composition. Also the distribution of the weight (actual or visual) of the elements of a composition.
ACTUAL BALANCE
Balance that is necessary and achieved by the distribution of the actual weight in 3D work, like sculpture.
PICTORIAL BALANCE
Refers to the distribution of the apparent visual weight of 2D elements.
Roni Gendler, Untitled, 2005, Digital print Polykleitos of Argos, Doryphoros, 440 BCE
VISUAL WEIGHT
The way shapes may seem to float or sink based on their size, solidity and location within a composition.
Rene Magritte, Decalcomania, 1966, Oil on canvas
SYMMETRICAL
TYPES OF BALANCE
RADIAL
ALLOVER
ASYMMETRICAL
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Occurs when shapes or volumes are mirrored on either side of a vertical or horizontal axis.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, 1487
US Capital Building, Washington DC
TYPES OF BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
HR Giger, Li I, 1974, Acrylic on paper
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image from book project
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image from book project
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image from book project
TYPES OF BALANCE
RADIAL BALANCE
Balance that occurs when design elements radiate from a center point.
Radial symmetry found in nature Mandala
RADIAL BALANCE
Ad for Eden Snacks
TYPES OF BALANCE
ALLOVER BALANCE
A composition in which each part has equal visual weight.
Eva Hesse
Untitled, 1966, Black ink with wash and pencil on paper
ALLOVER BALANCE
MC Escher Bulldog, 1942, Woodcut
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
An equilibrium that is created among visual elements that differ in size, number, weight, color or texture.
Otto Steinert, Passerby, 1950, Gelatin silver print
TYPES OF BALANCE
Ways of achieving Asymmetrical Balance
VALUE & COLOR
High contrast values or contrasting colors can provide visual weight.
Sergio Larrain, Valparaiso, Chile, 1957, Gelatin silver print Daniel Zeller, Disquisition, 2007, Ink, Acrylic on Paper
VALUE
Kerry James Marshall, Souvenir IV, 1998, Acrylic, collage, and glitter on unstretched canvas
COLOR
Yoshitomo Nara, There is No Place Like Home, 1995, Acrylic on canvas
SHAPE & TEXTURE
Shapes are often used to offset other shapes or to contrast similar shapes in different sizes.
Texture can also be used in this way.
Ways of achieving Asymmetrical Balance
SHAPE and TEXTURE
Wangechi Mutu, Backlash Blues, 2004, ink, acrylic, photocollage, contact
paper, on mylar
POSITION
The placement of objects of varying visual weights can create an asymmetrically balanced composition.
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, 1921, Oil on canvas
Ways of achieving Asymmetrical Balance
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, Yellow, 1930, Oil on canvas
POSITION
Ad from Living Magazine
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image using Value, Position and Texture to create Asymmetrical Balance
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image using Value, Position and Texture to create Asymmetrical Balance
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Student sample image using Value, Position and Texture to create Asymmetrical Balance
RHYTHM
Think of visual rhythm in terms of musical rhythm:
• METER: basic pattern of sound and silence
• TEMPO: the speed at which the music is played
• ACCENTS: emphasis on certain notes
Bridget Riley, Cataract 3, 1967, Tempera on Hardboard
RHYTHM The repetition of multiple parts to create a pattern of positive/negative, sound/silence, or other contrasting forces. Rhythm creates a sense of movement.
REGULAR REPETITION
A means of creating rhythm in which elements are duplicated at an orderly or fixed interval.
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1990, Anodised aluminium, steel and acrylic
Ways of achieving Rhythm
A B C A B C A B C
A B A B A B A B
RHYTHM
Student sample image using Regular Repetition to create Rhythm
ALTERNATING REPETITION
A type of rhythm in which different elements in a work repeat themselves in a predictable, alternating order.
Graci Tabi, Cow Pattern
Ways of achieving Rhythm
ABA CDC ABA EFE ABA
A B A C A B A C A B A
PROGRESSIVE REPETITION
A type of rhythm in which elements in a work change slightly as they move or progress toward a defined point in the composition.
Spyros Horemis, from Optical and Geometric Patterns and Designs, 1970
Ways of achieving Rhythm
AB AB AB AB AB
A AB ABC ABCD ABCDE
RHYTHM
Student sample image using Progressive Repetition to create Rhythm
RHYTHM
Student sample image using Progressive Repetition to create Rhythm
PATTERN
Designs that are composed of repeated elements that are usually varied, produce interconnections and a sense of rhythm.
Fabrics and quilts are known for using pattern
Ways of achieving Rhythm
RHYTHM
Student sample image using a Pattern to create Rhythm
SCALE & PROPORTION
SCALE
Size in relations to other objects or humans.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-1988, aluminum, stainless steel, paint
SCALE
Size in relations to other objects or humans.
Rene Magritte, Personal Values, 1952, Oil on canvas
SCALE
Pepsi Ad Ad for Holland America Cruise Lines
Tim Hawkinson
Bird Egg
1 x 1.5 x 1 inches 2 x 2 x 1.75 inches
SCALE
Size in relations to other objects or humans.
SCALE
Student sample image from book project
SCALE
Student sample image from book project
SCALE
Student sample image from book project
PROPORTION
The comparative relationship between the parts to a whole; the ratio of one thing to another within a larger whole. The relative size of visual elements within a composition.
Chuck Close, Big Self-Portrait, 1967-68, Acrylic on canvas
Philip Pearlstein, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Pillsbury, 1973, Oil on canvas
Lucian Freud, Reflection (Self-Portrait), 1985, Oil on canvas
Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait, 1969, Oil on canvas Amedeo Modigliani, Self-Portrait, 1919, Oil on canvas
PROPORTION
Student sample image showing skewed Proportions
PROPORTION
Student sample image showing skewed Proportions
EMPHASIS & FOCAL POINT
EMPHASIS
Designers use emphasis to compel the viewer’s eye toward a certain part or area of a composition.
FOCAL POINT
The focal point is an area or part of a composition that seizes and maintains the viewer’s attention.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Second to The Last Big:
Symphony Masquerades as War, 2006, Mixed media on canvas
EMPHASIS & FOCAL POINT
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-1498, Tempera on plaster
SEPARATION / CONNECTION
Any anomaly or break from the norm tends to stand out. Our eye searches for similarities, so differences attract attention.
Ways of achieving Emphasis & Focal Point
Dorothea Lange, White Angel Bread Line, 1932
SEPARATION / CONNECTION
Laylah Ali, Untitled, 1999, Gouache on paper
SEPARATION / CONNECTION
Student Example of using Separation/Connection to create a Focal Point
Ways of achieving Emphasis & Focal Point
LOCATION / PLACEMENT
Emphasis on a particular area in a composition can help to direct the eye towards a focal point.
The Luo Brothers, from their Welcome the World’s Famous Brand series, 2005-2008
LOCATION / PLACEMENT
John Trumbull, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, 1817, Oil on canvas
LOCATION / PLACEMENT
Student Example of using Location/Placement to create a Focal Point
CONTRAST
Created when two or more forces are in opposition…
Static / Dynamic
Small / Large
Solid / Textured
Curvilinear / Rectilinear
Grayscale / Color
Light / Dark
Ways of achieving Emphasis & Focal Point
Consider contrast with
SIZE, SHAPE and COLOR
CONTRAST
Georgia O’Keeffe, Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. IV, 1930, Oil on canvas
CONTRAST
David Adam Edelstein, Tilt-Shift Shinjuku at night, 2007, Digital print
Ida Applebroog, K-Mart Village II,1989, Oil on canvas
CONTRAST
Student example using Contrast to create a Focal Point
CONTRAST
ISOLATION
The placement of one image or element apart from others in a composition.
Ways of achieving Emphasis & Focal Point
Pablo Picasso, Family of Saltimbanques, 1905, Oil on canvas
ISOLATION
Ger Van Elk, Lunch II, 1976, Photograph, drawing and oil on ivory and metal
ISOLATION
Student example using Isolation to create a Focal Point
DIRECTIONAL LINES
Line can be used to direct the viewer’s eye to the focal point of a design.
Ways of achieving Emphasis & Focal Point
Oskar Schlemmer, Bauhaus Stairway, 1932, Oil on canvas
DIRECTIONAL LINES
Irving Norman, From Work, 1978, Oil on canvas
DIRECTIONAL LINES
Student example using Directional Lines to create a Focal Point
DIRECTIONAL LINES
Student example using Directional Lines to create a Focal Point
The purposeful absence of a focal point can be used to further a particular theme or idea.
The Absence of a Focal Point
Vija Celmins, Untitled (Big Sea #1), 1969, Graphite on paper
Vija Celmins, Untitled (Night Sky #10), 1994-95, Oil on linen
EMPHASIS / FOCAL POINT
Student sample image from book project
EMPHASIS / FOCAL POINT
Student sample image from book project
EMPHASIS / FOCAL POINT
Student sample image from book project
The Elements of Design
LINE
SHAPE
TEXTURE
VALUE
COLOR
SPACE
TIME & MOTION
The Principles of Design
UNITY & VARIETY
BALANCE
RHYTHM
SCALE & PROPORTION
EMPHASIS & FOCAL POINT