1. ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES
OF DESIGN
Repetition
Variety
Rhythm
Balance
Compositional Unity
Economy
Proportion
Relationship to the Environment
2. Organizing Principles of
Design
Artists use principles of design to
combine the visual elements of art
into compositions that have a certain
style, form, and content.
Design (or composition) is a process
—the act of organizing the visual
elements to effect a desired aesthetic
in a work of art.
11. Rhythm
The regular repetition of sensory
impressions result in rhythms.
Artists can enhance or exaggerate
individual elements in their
composition through minor and major
variations in rhythm.
17. Balance
In art, balance refers to the actual or
apparent weight of the elements of a
composition.
18. Balance
Actual Balance and Pictorial Balance
Because sculptures have actual
weight, they also have actual balance.
Pictorial balance refers to the
distribution of the apparent or visual
weight of the elements in works that
are basically two dimensional.
20. Balance
Symmetrical balance (also known as
pure or formal balance) occurs when
everything in a composition to either
side of an actual or imaginary line is
identical.
21. Balance
Symmetrical balance in art can be
created through approximate
symmetry, in which the whole of the
work has a symmetrical feeling, but
slight variations provide more visual
interest than would a mirror image.
23. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Gift of Lalia and Thurston Twigg-Smith. Copyright Whitney Museum, New
York/Electronic Arts Intermiix (EAI), New York.
Nam June Paik
28. Balance
Asymmetrical balance occurs when
the variations to one side of the
composition are more than slight, yet
an overall sense of balance remains.
50. Emphasis and Focal Point
Artists use the design principle of
emphasis to focus the viewer’s
attention on one or more parts of a
composition by
accentuating certain shapes
intensifying value or color
featuring directional lines
strategically placing the objects and
images.
51. Emphasis and Focal Point
Emphasis can be used to create focal
points or specific parts of the work
that seize and hold the viewer's
interest.
59. The Museum of Modern Art, New
York. Acquired through an
anonymous fund, the Mr. And Mrs.
Joseph Slifka and Armand G. Erpf
Funds, andby gift of the artist.
Copyright 2003 Successio
Miró/Artists Rights Society (ARS),
New York/ADAGP, Paris /Art
Resource, New York.
Juan Miro
62. SCALE AND PROPORTION
Scale means size in relation to a
standard or “normal” size.
Proportion refers to size relationship
between parts of a whole, or between
two or more items perceived as a unit.
63. Scale
Distortion of scale occurs when artists
want to distort or subvert the realistic
scale of objects to challenge the
viewer to look at the familiar in a new
way.
64. Copyright 2003, C. Herscovici, Brussels /Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Art Resources, New York.
Rene Magritte
73. Proportion
The Canon of Proportions:
“Keeping Things in Proportion”
A set of rules about body parts and
their dimensions relative to one
another that became the standard for
creating the ideal figure.
