The Seven Principles of Design
Remember the acronym:
MDHVBPE
My Dog Has Very Big Paws & Ears
M=Movement:
The use of visual pathways in a work.
D=Dominance:
Elements, areas or images made to assume more importance than others.
H=Harmony:
Giving units a sameness or "relatedness"of properties through repetition:
This cohesiveness pull units together.
Harmony is achieved by:
repetition: repeated use of the same visual effect. May cause harmony, pattern, rhythmic movement or dominance.
motif: design or patterned unit that is repeated
allover pattern: The repetition of a motif over an entire surface making a new pattern within the area.
rhythm: a flow or rhythmic movement created by repetition or measured accents or regulated visual units..
closure: a gestalt concept in which groupings occur when incomplete information is seen as complete-unified whole. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
V=Variety:
Visual separation of units- dissimilarities providing interest and excitement.
Variety is achieved by:
contrast: visual emphasis through difference.
elaboration: addition of detail or embellishment with contradictory information to make area different than surrounding area.
B=Balance
A equilibrium achieved through the use of the elements.
symmetry: mirror like repetition on either side of an actual or imagined central axis.
approximate symmetry: similar but not exact imagery on either side of a central axis.
radial: compositions emanating from a central point.
asymmetry: "felt or implied equilibrium without any symmetry.
P=Proportion
The comparative relationship between parts of a whole or units as to size. (the size of the Statue of Liberty's hand relates to the size of her head.)
scale: established when associations of size are created relative to some constant standard or specific unit of measure relative to human dimensions. The Statue of Liberty's scale relative to human dimensions. (the Statue of Liberty's scale is apparent when she is seen next to an automobile.)
E=Economy
The elimination of everything not essential for greater clarity.
Other Terms
Composition: The art work's organization or arrangement producing unity.
Pattern: a design unity or an organization of the elements in specific relationships.
Gestalt: a German word for "form" the theory is that the total is greater than the sum of its parts".
Form: the organization of all the visual elements according to the principles that will develop unity in the artwork. The total appearance or organization.
Form is concerned with the structure, organization or design of a work. Therefore, the artist is a visual former with a plan.
Other sub-units of form are: repetition, rhythm, spatial tension, and closure.
Unity: is the sum total of all the principles. Unity is a sense of oneness resulting from use of the elements (line, shape, texture, color, value) in an appropriate ratio between harmony and variety. Harmony pulls images or areas together and Variety will separate or isolate the same area.
Organic Unity: The artist is motivated by feelings about the subject (the what), The artistic elements -line, shape, color, texture and value are manipulated to create form (the how) in the work, which produces content (the why) that parallels the artists feelings. The artist attempts to make all parts of the work, the how, the why and the what work together mutually as if they were a living organism or organic unity--which is the desired end.
Research question this week:
Which design principle do you think is the most important and why?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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8 comments:
Economy seems to be on everyone's minds these days and I think it is the key principal in design since it can make or break the work. Too little information or the lack of any of the other principals leaves the design incomplete. Too much of even a good thing is distracting.
I think that unity may be the single most important concept. All elements on a page must look like they belong together or the entire design falls apart. Therefore, I think all of the principals are of equal value.
~April Heselton
At first I thought the most important Principle would be Harmony or Balance ~ I tend to go for things that are proportional, symmetrical, or the repetition of a specific design. In the end I choose Variety. Variety can spice things up a bit, accentuating something different, or drawing attention to contrasting areas. It keeps things from being too bland or too neutral. Variety keeps it interesting.
~ Claire Gilbride
Even though I think all elements in a design are very important, dominance stands out for me. In my point of view all designs and art works must show a point of interest; something that caughts the viewer's attention. The particilar image which represents dominance, provides a focal point and gets you thinking on what the whole piece is about.
While I think all are important, the principle of Harmony seems to be a blanket one that incorporates the others. For a piece to have harmony, it should also be embracing the other elements.
Nothing spoils a picture, drawing or video more than when the proportions are off. A head that is too big for the body, hands with fingers that are too long, or a drawing with proportions that are out of scale. The proportions need to be correct or the entire picture is off.
- Jeff
Dominance is the most important. it is the focal point on any piece. it gets you to start thinking about what the piece is trying to tell you. A dominace piece draws the audience into the painting.
I agree with Claire; variety is paramount. I can think of images that demonstrate the absence of all the other principles, and yet the images remain interesting to me; the absence of variety in a piece, however, leaves me quite bored.
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