Welcome to Design 131

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?