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UNITY & VARIETY BALANCE RHYTHM SCALE & PROPORTION EMPHASIS & FOCAL POINT
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
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
REPETITION
UNITY / VARIETY
CONTINUITY
UNITY / VARIETY
THE GRID Grids are the organizing structures for many patterns.
Tile patterns
Wallpaper patterns
THE GRID
UNITY / VARIETY
COLOR
UNITY / VARIETY
VALUE
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.
VISUAL WEIGHT The way shapes may seem to float or sink based on their size, solidity and location within a composition.
TYPES OF BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL
RADIAL
ALLOVER
ASYMMETRICAL
TYPES OF BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE Occurs when shapes or volumes are mirrored on either side of a vertical or horizontal axis.
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
TYPES OF BALANCE
RADIAL BALANCE Balance that occurs when design elements radiate from a center point.
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
TYPES OF BALANCE
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE An equilibrium that is created among visual elements that differ in size, number, weight, color or texture.
VALUE
Kerry James Marshall, Souvenir IV, 1998, Acrylic, collage, and glitter on unstretched canvas
COLOR
Shapes are often used to offset other shapes or to contrast similar shapes in different sizes.
POSITION The placement of objects of varying visual weights can create an asymmetrically balanced composition.
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, Yellow, 1930, Oil on canvas
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, 1921, Oil on canvas
POSITION
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
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.
METER: basic pattern of sound and silence ACCENTS: emphasis on certain notes TEMPO: the speed at which the music is played
REGULAR REPETITION A means of creating rhythm in which elements are duplicated at an orderly or fixed interval.
A B A B A B A B
A B C A B C A B C
RHYTHM
ALTERNATING REPETITION A type of rhythm in which different elements in a work repeat themselves in a predictable, alternating order. 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. AB
AB
AB
AB AB
ABCDE
A AB
ABC
ABCD
Spyros Horemis, from Optical and Geometric Patterns and Designs, 1970
RHYTHM
RHYTHM
RHYTHM
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-1988, aluminum, stainless steel, paint
SCALE
Pepsi Ad
Tim Hawkinson
SCALE
SCALE
SCALE
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.
Philip Pearlstein, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Pillsbury, 1973, Oil on canvas
PROPORTION
PROPORTION
EMPHASIS Designers use emphasis to compel the viewers 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 viewers attention.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Second to The Last Big: Symphony Masquerades as War, 2006, Mixed media on canvas
SEPARATION / CONNECTION Any anomaly or break from the norm tends to stand out. Our eye searches for similarities, so differences attract attention.
SEPARATION / CONNECTION
SEPARATION / CONNECTION
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 Worlds Famous Brand series, 2005-2008
LOCATION / PLACEMENT
LOCATION / PLACEMENT
CONTRAST
CONTRAST
CONTRAST
Ida Applebroog, K-Mart Village II,1989, Oil on canvas
CONTRAST
ISOLATION
Ger Van Elk, Lunch II, 1976, Photograph, drawing and oil on ivory and metal
ISOLATION
DIRECTIONAL LINES
DIRECTIONAL LINES
DIRECTIONAL LINES