Principles of Design

1. Principles of Design

2. Principles of Design
Balance
Emphasis
Proportion and Scale
Rhythm and Repetition
Unity and Variety

3. Leonardo da Vinci. Study of Human Proportion: The Vitruvian Man.
c. 1492.

4. Frank Gehry residence. 1977–78.

5. Balance
Symmetrical
Asymmetrical
Radial

6. Symmetry
Absolute
Bilateral

7. Taj Mahal. Mughal period, c. 1632–48.

8. Enguerrand Quarton. Coronation of the Virgin. 1453–54.
72 x 86 5/8 in.

9. Asymmetrical
Balance
Balance can be achieved even when
the two sides of the composition
lack symmetry, if they seem to possess
the same visual weight.

11. Childe Hassam. Boston Common at Twilight. c. 1885-86.
42 x 60 in.,

12. Jan Vermeer. Woman Holding a Balance. c. 1664.
15 7/8 x 14 in., framed: 24 3/4 x 23 x 3 in.

13. Radial Balance
Where everything radiates outward
from a central point.

14. Rose window. Chartres Cathedral. c. 1215.

17. Emphasis
Artists employ emphasis in order to
draw the viewer’s attention
to one area of the work.
That area is called the focal point.

18. Anna Vallayer-Coster. Still Life with Lobster. 1781.
27 3/4 x 35 1/4 in.

19. Georges de La Tour. Joseph the Carpenter. c. 1645.
18 1/2 x 25 1/2 in.

20. Anselm Kiefer. Parsifal I. 1973.
127 7/8 x 86 1/2 in.

21. Fransisco Goya. The Third of May 1808. 1810-1812.

22. Radial Balance
Where everything radiates outward
from a central point.
Jackson Pollock. Number 1. 1948.

23. Larry Poons. Orange Crush. 1963.
80 x 80 in.

24. Scale and Proportion
Scale = used to describe the dimensions
of an art object in relation to the
original object that it depicts or in
relation to the objects around it.
Proportion = refers to the relationship
Between the parts of an object and the whole,
or to the relationship between an object and
Its surroundings.

25. Do-Ho Suh. Public Figures. 1998–99.
10 x 7 x 9 ft.

26. Do-Ho Suh

27. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Spoonbridge and Cherry.
1988.
29 ft. 6 in. x 51 ft. 6 in. x 13 ft. 6 in.

31. Hokusai. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-Six
Views of Mount Fuji. 1823–29.
10 x 15 in.

32. Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Untitled. 1991.
billboard dimensions vary with installation.

33. Polykleitos. Doryphoros. 450 BCE.
height 84 in.

34. Parthenon. 447–438 BCE.
111 x 237 ft. at base.

35. Repetition and Rhythm
Repetition = when we see the same thing
over and over again. often implies monotony
Rhythm = when the same or like elements are repeated
over and over again in a composition, a certain
visual rhythm will result.

36. Jacob Lawrence. Barber Shop. 1946.
21 1/8 x 29 3/8 in.

38. Laylah Ali. Untitled. 2000.
13 x 19 in.

39. Auguste Rodin. Gates of Hell with Adam and Eve. 1880–1917.
250 3/4 x 158 x 33 3/8 in.

40. Auguste Rodin. The Three Shades. 1881–86, posthumous cast
authorized by Musée Rodin, 1980.
75 1/2 x 75 1/2 x 42 in.

41. Unity and Variety
Unity = An ordering of all elements in a work of art
or literature so that each contributes to a
unified aesthetic effect.
Variety = The quality or condition of being
various or varied; diversity.

42. James Lavadour. The Seven Valleys and the Five Valleys. 1988.
54 x 96 in.

43. Louise Lawler. Pollock and Tureen. 1984.
28 x 39 in.

44. Las Vegas, Nevada.