Ewe Got It Art - Intermediate Design Principles Part 2

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN The principles of design represent the most general classes of tools available for determining the ideal arrangement of the elements of design for any given visual work. Balance The concept of balance is fundamental to well-formed design. Most of the following principles are forces, which are used in opposition with one another to make artful use of visual tension; when these loci of tension are aligned with one another in such a way as to serve the overall form of the design, the image is considered to be balanced (or to "have good composition"). The twin underlying principles of good composition are balance and direction (discussed below). In the most basic sense, balance ensures that the design is perceived by the viewer as stable (factoring in effects such as the imaginary sense of gravity imposed by the human psyche) and direction ensures that the design is perceived as interesting (the eye finds things to see in the places where it is pushed to look). Overall compositional balance can be achieved most directly with simple symmetry, but this is seldom desirable because perfectly centered compositions tend to be boring (due to an imposed excess of unity, discussed below). Dynamic but balanced compositions can be created by arranging elements in mis-matched opposition. For example, a large shape on the left can be balanced by a small shape on the right, if the smaller shape is darker (or otherwise visually "heavier" due to added visual tension, complexity or mass illusions created through shading). Direction The course a viewer's eye will take through a composition is shaped by actual or implied lines, and actual or implied geometric shapes. Manipulating this course well is the mark of a master designer. The viewer's eye should be considered to be like water. Once it has entered the picture plane it will seek the course of least resistance, left to its own devices content to slosh around randomly and be tugged upon by imaginary gravity and the conventional reading direction of the viewer's society. By using line, direction and emphasis the artist can provide strong pathways for the viewer's eye to adhere to, sweeping through the prime areas of focus and steering safety away from falling out of the edge of the picture plane. When this manipulation is perfected the viewer will feel that they "cannot look away" from the image. In general, images dominated by rectilinearity (strong verticals, horizontals) have a more static or stately quality compared with images dominated by diagonality (slanty lines, triangles) or orbicularity (sweeping curves, spirals), which tend to impart a feeling of sweeping motion and dynamism. Ratio This principle refers to the proportions of elements within a given composition (distinct from overall scale, which is the size of the work itself). The relative sizes of things can be adjusted for the purposes of creating a perspective illusion, exaggerating comparative apparent attributes, as a message or metaphor, or simply to achieve a balanced layout in terms of the distribution mass and space. Ratios can also be considered on a purely aesthetic basis. The Ancient Greeks had a number of homoerotic cults dedicated to mathematical masturbation among whose principle fetishes were various quests for divine ratios. Their most famous product was the Golden Section (also known as Phi) which can be found so: divide a line (AC) at a particular point that will yield unequal sections in which the smaller one (AB) is to the larger one (BC) as the larger one (BC) is to the entire length (AC), or AB:BC = BC:AC. The ratio can also be expressed as 1:1.618. Common in nature (in the Fibonacci spiral of a snail's shell, for instance) and universally pleasing to the eye, this ratio is at the heart of many world-famous sculptures, paintings and buildings. Another source of inspiration for those clever, lusty Greeks was the human body itself. The proportions of pillars, porticos, platforms and all sorts of other forms in architecture directly reference the human proportions of hand to forearm, head to body, leg to foot. Human beings are designed to find human proportions pleasing -- curves and spatial relationships semblative of human biological design often score high points with the viewer's subconscious. Juxtaposition Also known as proximity, juxtaposition is the act of placing one thing next to another for the purposes of harmony or contrast in visual form or in meaning. Very different images can be placed side by side in order to force the viewer to confront both simultaneously, or very similar images can be juxtaposed in order to blend with one another seamlessly. Juxtaposition is one of the most powerful tools for creating tension, by pinching spaces between some objects and bloating the space between others, alternately constricting or expanding the passage the eye is inclined to follow through the work. Repetition Repetition is the process of creating identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements. (Repetition is the process of creating identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements.) Variation Variation is the process of creating non-identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements by adjusting one or more attributes, such as hue, value or direction. (Variation is the act of reproducing a given element as a nearby permutation of the original.) Pattern Patterns are regular assemblages of repeated and/or varied elements. There are ten generally recognized classes of pattern: orbicular (anything derived from playing with pi, like circles, spheres, radia), mosaic (many images combine to form a meta-image), lattice (periodic configuration of interlocking elements), polyhedral (repeated shapes), spiro-helix (including volutes), meander (organic wandering river-like lines), bifurcation-circulation (branching, some Arabesques), modulation/phasing (waves), reflection (symmetries) and fractal (reiterations of a single element, self-same on all scales). Pattern is a powerful tool and should be used carefully. Different patterns can stimulate sensations of motion, directional forces, scintillation, roiling and crawling in human vision. Patterns figure heavily in tribal art, dream imagery and narco-hallucinatory experiences. Scotsmen and DeadHeads alike agree: patterns are trippy. An article in the December 2002 issue of Scientific American describes computer analyses of several famous "action painting" works by Jackson Pollock, revealing that Pollock built up fractal patterns through a methodical layering process. Human test subjects reacted strongly to a specific range of fractal complexity in which Pollock's works lie, which may dispel the mystery of why the "action paintings" created by your kindergartener don't hold the same appeal to the world at large as their multi-million dollar counterparts hanging in museums: not enough fractal structure. Rhythm-Tempo As in music, rhythm is the use of similar motifs or stresses in a specific sequence, pattern or grouping of more than one element. Rhythm can be used with narrative time (as in animation) or in subjective time (as the viewer's eye takes a path through the work). Likewise, tempo can be literal (a time-lapse movie) or not (a frenetically busy illustration of a street scene). Rhythm and tempo figure heavily in the graceful use of type. Emphasis Emphasis, also called focus in some schema, is the act of causing some regions of an image to seem more important than others. Creating a balanced series of emphases is critical to creating a good overall composition: too many emphases is chaotic, too few is boring. When the eye is not directed where to look, it tends to just look away. Contrast To contrast is to set elements in definite opposition, in order to highlight differing attributes or juxtapose similar qualities. Irony, satire and morally didactic messages can be communicated through the effective use of subtle contrasts of subject matter. Manipulating the color or value contrast in photography can dramatically change the feel of the light in an image. High-contrast images tend to have more apparent abstract qualities, highlighting graphic shapes over actual forms. Harmony Too much variation and/or too much contrast between elements can ruin an image's sense of harmony. In a harmonious composition, even the elements that stand in opposition share enough common attributes with their surroundings to seem a part of the whole. Harmony in design is about finding a kind of visual rhyme-scheme, expressed through any single attribute or sets of attributes; for example, faint touches of color in common can connect two otherwise unrelated quadrants of an image. Unity Often mistakenly confused with harmony, unity is a stronger quality in which all elements of a composition are directly linked by one or more attributes. Images where unity is required but absent seem weak and insipid; images where unity is present but unnecessary seem static and cramped, locked into place. Flags, seals, and logos feature extreme unity. In some media more than others a certain amount of unity is imposed by the medium itself: in black and white photography, for instance, all aspects of a given image are united in terms of hue by default. Function Yes Virginia, there is such a thing as art for art's sake, but it is rare. Everything else has a more definite function, and this is a principle which far too many visual designers trample upon or ignore. In many wise lectures on the principles of design the concept of function is not even touched upon, thus arming a generation of university-trained designers with nothing more than a furrowed brow and a grunt of confusion when confronted with the realities of having to compromise a design for the sake of delineating intelligent information flow on websites or assuring readability in broadcast design packages. The bottom line is that in the real world things have to work: design must serve function. No matter how beautiful a design may be, if it interferes with functionality it is unadulterated guano. EPILOGUE Occasionally, highly successful works are created in a formal vacuum, executed by artists based entirely on an intuitive process. This is called Folk Art. The term refers specifically to diamonds in the rough and not, as is sometimes implied, to simply any art generated by regular folks (the proper, snotty term for which is "hobby art"). Sometimes amazing things can happen in the hands of hobby artists. Usually, however, it is advantageous to have some understanding of the formal aspects of art in order to better manipulate them to create better works, and to more meaningfully scoff at inferior works. In a professional context, formalism provides us with a language and a framework for constructing effective bullshit for pitches or for justifying resistance to revisions. In a social context, formalism gives us the analytical tools to cut through soft-headed flakes who would hide behind vague, emotional justifications for the structure of a work. While this article has barely scratched the surface of the subject of visual design, I hope that it has provided the reader with an engaging and informative overview of some of the issues involved. At the very least, the reader should now be able to toss off a few pompous art terms at their next cocktail party. About the Author - Matthew Frederick Davis Hemming is a freelance animator, illustrator and effects compositor. Visit his website at www.mfdh.ca.	Your Ad Here

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The principles of design represent the most general classes of tools available for determining the ideal arrangement of the elements of design for any given visual work.

Balance
The concept of balance is fundamental to well-formed design. Most of the following principles are forces, which are used in opposition with one another to make artful use of visual tension; when these loci of tension are aligned with one another in such a way as to serve the overall form of the design, the image is considered to be balanced (or to "have good composition").

The twin underlying principles of good composition are balance and direction (discussed below). In the most basic sense, balance ensures that the design is perceived by the viewer as stable (factoring in effects such as the imaginary sense of gravity imposed by the human psyche) and direction ensures that the design is perceived as interesting (the eye finds things to see in the places where it is pushed to look). Overall compositional balance can be achieved most directly with simple symmetry, but this is seldom desirable because perfectly centered compositions tend to be boring (due to an imposed excess of unity, discussed below).

Dynamic but balanced compositions can be created by arranging elements in mis-matched opposition. For example, a large shape on the left can be balanced by a small shape on the right, if the smaller shape is darker (or otherwise visually "heavier" due to added visual tension, complexity or mass illusions created through shading).

Direction
The course a viewer's eye will take through a composition is shaped by actual or implied lines, and actual or implied geometric shapes. Manipulating this course well is the mark of a master designer. The viewer's eye should be considered to be like water. Once it has entered the picture plane it will seek the course of least resistance, left to its own devices content to slosh around randomly and be tugged upon by imaginary gravity and the conventional reading direction of the viewer's society.

By using line, direction and emphasis the artist can provide strong pathways for the viewer's eye to adhere to, sweeping through the prime areas of focus and steering safety away from falling out of the edge of the picture plane. When this manipulation is perfected the viewer will feel that they "cannot look away" from the image. In general, images dominated by rectilinearity (strong verticals, horizontals) have a more static or stately quality compared with images dominated by diagonality (slanty lines, triangles) or orbicularity (sweeping curves, spirals), which tend to impart a feeling of sweeping motion and dynamism.

Ratio
This principle refers to the proportions of elements within a given composition (distinct from overall scale, which is the size of the work itself). The relative sizes of things can be adjusted for the purposes of creating a perspective illusion, exaggerating comparative apparent attributes, as a message or metaphor, or simply to achieve a balanced layout in terms of the distribution mass and space. Ratios can also be considered on a purely aesthetic basis.

The Ancient Greeks had a number of homoerotic cults dedicated to mathematical masturbation among whose principle fetishes were various quests for divine ratios. Their most famous product was the Golden Section (also known as Phi) which can be found so: divide a line (AC) at a particular point that will yield unequal sections in which the smaller one (AB) is to the larger one (BC) as the larger one (BC) is to the entire length (AC), or AB:BC = BC:AC. The ratio can also be expressed as 1:1.618. Common in nature (in the Fibonacci spiral of a snail's shell, for instance) and universally pleasing to the eye, this ratio is at the heart of many world-famous sculptures, paintings and buildings.

Another source of inspiration for those clever, lusty Greeks was the human body itself. The proportions of pillars, porticos, platforms and all sorts of other forms in architecture directly reference the human proportions of hand to forearm, head to body, leg to foot. Human beings are designed to find human proportions pleasing -- curves and spatial relationships semblative of human biological design often score high points with the viewer's subconscious.

Juxtaposition
Also known as proximity, juxtaposition is the act of placing one thing next to another for the purposes of harmony or contrast in visual form or in meaning. Very different images can be placed side by side in order to force the viewer to confront both simultaneously, or very similar images can be juxtaposed in order to blend with one another seamlessly. Juxtaposition is one of the most powerful tools for creating tension, by pinching spaces between some objects and bloating the space between others, alternately constricting or expanding the passage the eye is inclined to follow through the work.

Repetition
Repetition is the process of creating identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements. (Repetition is the process of creating identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements.) Variation Variation is the process of creating non-identical instances of an element or assemblage of elements by adjusting one or more attributes, such as hue, value or direction. (Variation is the act of reproducing a given element as a nearby permutation of the original.)

Pattern
Patterns are regular assemblages of repeated and/or varied elements. There are ten generally recognized classes of pattern: orbicular (anything derived from playing with pi, like circles, spheres, radia), mosaic (many images combine to form a meta-image), lattice (periodic configuration of interlocking elements), polyhedral (repeated shapes), spiro-helix (including volutes), meander (organic wandering river-like lines), bifurcation-circulation (branching, some Arabesques), modulation/phasing (waves), reflection (symmetries) and fractal (reiterations of a single element, self-same on all scales).

Pattern is a powerful tool and should be used carefully. Different patterns can stimulate sensations of motion, directional forces, scintillation, roiling and crawling in human vision. Patterns figure heavily in tribal art, dream imagery and narco-hallucinatory experiences. Scotsmen and DeadHeads alike agree: patterns are trippy. An article in the December 2002 issue of Scientific American describes computer analyses of several famous "action painting" works by Jackson Pollock, revealing that Pollock built up fractal patterns through a methodical layering process.

Human test subjects reacted strongly to a specific range of fractal complexity in which Pollock's works lie, which may dispel the mystery of why the "action paintings" created by your kindergartener don't hold the same appeal to the world at large as their multi-million dollar counterparts hanging in museums: not enough fractal structure.

Rhythm-Tempo
As in music, rhythm is the use of similar motifs or stresses in a specific sequence, pattern or grouping of more than one element. Rhythm can be used with narrative time (as in animation) or in subjective time (as the viewer's eye takes a path through the work). Likewise, tempo can be literal (a time-lapse movie) or not (a frenetically busy illustration of a street scene). Rhythm and tempo figure heavily in the graceful use of type.

Emphasis
Emphasis, also called focus in some schema, is the act of causing some regions of an image to seem more important than others. Creating a balanced series of emphases is critical to creating a good overall composition: too many emphases is chaotic, too few is boring. When the eye is not directed where to look, it tends to just look away. Contrast To contrast is to set elements in definite opposition, in order to highlight differing attributes or juxtapose similar qualities.

Irony, satire and morally didactic messages can be communicated through the effective use of subtle contrasts of subject matter. Manipulating the color or value contrast in photography can dramatically change the feel of the light in an image. High-contrast images tend to have more apparent abstract qualities, highlighting graphic shapes over actual forms.

Harmony
Too much variation and/or too much contrast between elements can ruin an image's sense of harmony. In a harmonious composition, even the elements that stand in opposition share enough common attributes with their surroundings to seem a part of the whole. Harmony in design is about finding a kind of visual rhyme-scheme, expressed through any single attribute or sets of attributes; for example, faint touches of color in common can connect two otherwise unrelated quadrants of an image.

Unity
Often mistakenly confused with harmony, unity is a stronger quality in which all elements of a composition are directly linked by one or more attributes. Images where unity is required but absent seem weak and insipid; images where unity is present but unnecessary seem static and cramped, locked into place. Flags, seals, and logos feature extreme unity. In some media more than others a certain amount of unity is imposed by the medium itself: in black and white photography, for instance, all aspects of a given image are united in terms of hue by default.

Function
Yes Virginia, there is such a thing as art for art's sake, but it is rare. Everything else has a more definite function, and this is a principle which far too many visual designers trample upon or ignore. In many wise lectures on the principles of design the concept of function is not even touched upon, thus arming a generation of university-trained designers with nothing more than a furrowed brow and a grunt of confusion when confronted with the realities of having to compromise a design for the sake of delineating intelligent information flow on websites or assuring readability in broadcast design packages.

The bottom line is that in the real world things have to work: design must serve function. No matter how beautiful a design may be, if it interferes with functionality it is unadulterated guano.

EPILOGUE
Occasionally, highly successful works are created in a formal vacuum, executed by artists based entirely on an intuitive process. This is called Folk Art. The term refers specifically to diamonds in the rough and not, as is sometimes implied, to simply any art generated by regular folks (the proper, snotty term for which is "hobby art"). Sometimes amazing things can happen in the hands of hobby artists.

Usually, however, it is advantageous to have some understanding of the formal aspects of art in order to better manipulate them to create better works, and to more meaningfully scoff at inferior works. In a professional context, formalism provides us with a language and a framework for constructing effective bullshit for pitches or for justifying resistance to revisions. In a social context, formalism gives us the analytical tools to cut through soft-headed flakes who would hide behind vague, emotional justifications for the structure of a work.

While this article has barely scratched the surface of the subject of visual design, I hope that it has provided the reader with an engaging and informative overview of some of the issues involved. At the very least, the reader should now be able to toss off a few pompous art terms at their next cocktail party.

About the Author - Matthew Frederick Davis Hemming is a freelance animator, illustrator and effects compositor. Visit his website at www.mfdh.ca.

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