The principles of design are the governing ‘rules’ by which successful pictures are made, whether the designer had been consciously aware of them or not. The principles I list here are as described, qualified, and quantified by Charlotte Jirousek, with illustrated examples by artist John Lovett. In the context of the Rhymes 2D project, principles dealing in colours and examples involving colours have been excluded.
- Balance
Balance can be defined as the the visual weight of the elements in a design. Visually heavy elements (eg a large element) can be balanced in a design by their proximity to and contrast in colour compared to other elements (eg a large object placed near the centre is balanced when the small object is placed furthur from the centre).
Left: Objects are balanced accounting for size. Right: Objects are balanced according to contrast with background.
- Rhythm
Most of us would be more familiar with the concept of rhythm in the context of sound, ie music. Visual rhythm is similar, except that instead of perceiving the rhythm with our ears, we do so with our eyes. Rhythm can be achieved through several means.
Gradation, or tonal rhythm, establishes rhythm as a progression of visual steps and creates dynamism in a design through the use of tonal values.
Repetition can also be used to establish rhythm by repeating a visual element and creating patterns (for example, by employing an alternating pattern of dark and light shapes). Repetition does not necessarily have to be of an identical element, a similar but different element may be also be employed.
- Emphasis
Also known as interruption, emphasis in a design calls the viewers attention to the important object by creating a strong focal point. This can be achieved in a number of ways.
- Direction, Size and Shape: Having a dominant direction and form will call attention to and emphasize elements in the design which go against it.
- Tonal Values: Elements having a strong contrast in their tone against the background and other elements will carry more visual weight and is emphasized in the design.
- Strategic Locations: Placing the object of focus in a strategic location, such as in the centre of a picture or the thirds corners, will draw viewer attention.
- Unity
Unity refers to the individual elements coming together into a coherent, complete design. This helps viewers to consume the entirety of a design more easily and requires less effort on the viewers’ part to understand and/or appreciate the design. This can be achieved by linking individual elements together with guiding lines, positioning elements such that they overlap, or by placing elements along the golden ratio.
^Golden Ratio No Golden Ratio^
