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Principles of Design
Presentation by Professor Ar Shakti Nanda
@ SRISRI RAVISHANKAR UNIVERSITY, ODISHA
For Students of Architecture, 1st Year, Semester - I
shaktinanda@gmail.com

2.
What is Design
Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the
construction of an object or a system. It may be an
architectural blueprints, engineering drawings, business
processes, circuit diagrams or sewing patterns. Design has
different connotations in different fields
Design is what links creativity and
innovation. It shapes ideas to become
practical and attractive propositions
for users, clients or customers. Design
may be described as creativity
deployed to a specific end

3.
Principles of Design
The principles of design
describe the ways an artist use
different elements of design in a
composition.These ways or
principles are
• Balance
• Rhythm
• Emphasis
• Contrast
• Movement
• Harmony
• Proportion and scale

4.
Principles of Design
A sense of equilibrium.
When establishing balance consider
visual weight created by size, color,
texture and number of objects.
Balance is the concept of visual
equilibrium, and relates to our physical
sense of balance. It is a reconciliation of
opposing forces in a composition that
results in visual stability. Most
successful compositions achieve
balance in one of two ways:
symmetrically or asymmetrically.
BALANCE

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Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance can be
described as having equal "weight"
on equal sides of a centrally placed
fulcrum. It may also be referred to as
formal balance.When the elements
are arranged equally on either side
of a central axis, the result is
Bilateral symmetry.
This axis may be horizontal or
vertical. It is also possible to build
formal balance by arranging
elements equally around a central
point , resulting in radial symmetry.
This is called Radial Balance
BALANCE

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Principles of Design
Symmetrical balance
BALANCE

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Principles of Design
Radial Balance / Biaxial Symmetry
BALANCE

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Principles of Design
Near Symmetry & Inverted Symmetry
BALANCE

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Asymmetrical balance, also called
informal balance, is more complex
and difficult to achieve. It involves
placement of objects in a way that
will allow objects of varying visual
weight to balance one another
around a central point.
It just means that there are no mirror
images in a composition.The term,
however, is usually used to describe a
kind of balance that does not rely on
symmetry:

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Asymmetrical balance

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Asymmetrical balance

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Balance Using Texture

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Balance Using Colours

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Balance Using Shapes

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Principles of Design
BALANCE
Balance Using Space

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Principles of Design
RHYTHM
A visual tempo or beat.The principle of design
that refers to a regular repetition of elements of
art to produce the look and feel of movement. It
is often achieved through the careful placement
of repeated components which invite the
viewer's eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly
from one to the next.
Rhythm in architecture is the repetitive use of a group of visual elements, at
least three times, to establish a recognizable “pattern.” Simple examples of
rhythm are the alternating window and column arrangement of most high
rise office buildings. More complex rhythms make use of what in jazz music
is called "counterpoint", that is, two or more intersecting or overlaid rhythms.
This is seen frequently in classical architecture, where a series of columns
and openings are overlaid on top of a series of smaller openings.

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Principles of Design
TYPE OF RHYTHEM
Rhythm by Repetition
Rhythm by Gradation
Rhythm by Radiation
Rhythm by Opposition
Rhythm by Transition

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Repetition
n Rhythm created by
duplicating (repeating)
shapes, colors, pattern,
line, texture.
n Repeated Window panes,
repeat. Stripes on wall and
design and colour of glass.

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Repetition

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Gradation
n Rhythm created by a gradual
change in size or color.
n Carpet on the floor changes
gradually in value.
n Gradation in lights. bellow

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Gradation

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Radiation
n Rhythm created by identical
objects coming from a
central axis.
n The glass frames“radiate”
from the center of the path.
n The floor design, the
windows, furnitures etc in
redial rhythm

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Radiation

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Opposition
n Rhythm created direct
placement of lines, shapes or
colour to create opposition
through abrupt visual
change.
n Contrasting black and white
tiles and the lines
intersecting at right angles.

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Opposition

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Transition
n Rhythm created by curved
lines that carry your eye
across a straight surface.
n Window treatments that
gently swag down, create a
soft rhythm by transition.

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Principles of Design
Rhythm By Transition

28.
Principles of Design
EMPHASIS
Emphasis creates a focal point in a design composition; it is how we bring
attention to what is important in it.
It is the the focus of attention and interest within a composition
In Architecture it is the feature that commands attention and makes a
design visually interesting

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Principles of Design
EMPHASIS
The main reason in using emphasis is to help you communicate the
message that needs to be communicated. Emphasis helps readers
determine the important information on your display and allows them to
interpret the message faster.This process of arranging the visual elements
on a composition according to their order of importance and emphasis is
called Visual Hierarchy. Visual Hierarchy is used to guide readers
attention to the main places on your composition.

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Principles of Design
How to Create Emphasis
EMPHASIS
Make it bolder
Make it brighter
Change Style
Add special visual effects.
Add a border or frame
Add more negative of positive space
Add shadow or lights
Change the color
Change the position
Create Focal Points

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Principles of Design
Guidelines for Creating Emphasis
The point of emphasis should
command attention, but not dominate
the overall design.
Other features within the
composition should not compete for
the emphasis or contrast.

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Principles of Design
EMPHASIS In Architecture
ZahaHadid
Architects

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety)
Contrast is simply defined as
difference. Difference between elements
or subjects within a work of art or
composition. Contrast can be created
through variety within the elements of art.
(i.e. value, color, texture) Contrast can be
used to create a focal point or area of
interest in an artwork
Contrast is closely related with variety
which is usually considered as principle
of design. Although some art purist, stick
with variety and argue that contrast
simply creates variety.

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety)
it is easy to understand how colour can create
contrast. For example, complementary colours
provide a high level of contrast. Complementary
colours are colours that are located directly across
from each other on the colour wheel. Red and
green, blue and orange, and purple and yellow are
all examples of this. But when using
complementary colours, we also have to consider
value. Value is the darkness or lightness of colour.
Without contrast in value, the contrast created by
complementary colours is counter-
productive. Notice how the red and green vibrate
off of each other. The result is aesthetically horrid.
The problem lies in the use of value. There needs
to be contrast in value along with the contrast in
colour. If we change the values, not the colours, the
result is more successful

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety) in Colour

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety) in Texture

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety) in Size & Shape

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Principles of Design
Contrast (variety) in Space

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Principles of Design
Movement
Movement is the visual flow of your Design. It's the path that you intend
your viewer's eye to follow.You can create this by purposefully placing art
elements in a way that creates a path for the eye to follow

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Principles of Design
Movement
Is a visual flow through the composition. It can be the
suggestion of motion in a design as you move from object
to object by way of placement and position. Directional
movement can be created with a value pattern. It is with
the placement of dark and light areas that you can move
your attention through the format
An art work may incorporate actual motion; that is, the
artwork itself moves in some way. Or it may incorporate
the illusion of, or implied movement.
Art that moves through the effect of natural properties,
either its own inherent properties or their effect, is
unpredictable. Spatial relationships within the work
change continuously, with endless possibilities. One of the
delights of experiencing such artwork is the element of
change and surprise. It's as if every time we look at it we
are seeing a new artwork.

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Principles of Design
Movement
The Alhambra is a massive complex in
southern Spain built by Moors during
the 14th century. Its function was two
fold: as a fortress for protection and
defense, and as a palace for relaxation
and luxurious refreshment. Southern
Spain is dry and hot, and one of the
delightful and remarkable aspects of the
Alhambra is that water flows throughout
the whole complex in surprising and
ingenious ways. All of this was
engineered using forces of nature and
the qualities of how water moves.
Around every corner, in gardens and
courts and staircases the water flows. It
bestows a profound sense of renewal
and rest.

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Principles of Design
Movement Patterns

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Principles of Design
Movement in Architecture

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Principles of Design
Harmony
n There are 2 types of harmony.
n Unity
n Variety
Harmony in visual design means all parts of the visual image relate to
and complement each other. Harmony pulls the pieces of a visual image
together. Harmony can be achieved through repetition and rhythm

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Unity
n Unity occurs when all
the parts of a design
or composition are
related by one idea.
n A unified design has
consistency of style

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Unity

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Unity

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Variety
n When multiple elements of
design are used to add interest
to a design.
n Variety can be created using
different elements and
materials, as long as they are
compatible to each other.
Unity Vs Variety

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Variety
Harmony Is achieved when unity and variety are effectively combined.
n Carrying variety too far creates confusion.
n A lack of unity may make a space smaller.

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Variety

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Principles of Design
Harmony By Variety

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Scale refers to the size of an
object (a whole) in relationship to
another object (another whole).
In art the size relationship
between an object and the human
body is significant. In
experiencing the scale of an
artwork we tend to compare its
size to the size of our own bodies.
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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Scale relates to the
size of a design in
relation to the height
and width of the area
in which it is placed

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Placement of objects determine
the size when compared to each
other or in other words we
evaluate the size from the objects
surrounded by objects.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
n Relates to the actual and
relative size and visual
weight of the design and its
components.
n Furniture and accessories
must be in scale to the room
BADSCALE
GOODSCALE

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
n This chairs massive
scale diminishes
everything around it.
n The chairs light
palate accentuates its
skinny scale.
n This club chair
matches the scale of
the sofa.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
n Center table is over-
scaled for the sofa.
n Table not only looks
out of scale, it
functions poorly as
well.
n The table is
substantial enough to
anchor the furniture
grouping, yet it leaves
room for traffic flow
around both ends.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Scale is very much associated with
ergonomics when used in the field of
architecture.The space designed for
human being is closely related size of
body parts and its function.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Origins of Measurements
In ancient times, the body ruled when it came to measuring.The length of a foot, the
width of a finger, and the distance of a step were all accepted measurements.
Inch: At first an inch was the width of a man's thumb. In the 14th century, King Edward II
of England ruled that 1 inch equalled 3 grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise.
Hand: A hand was approximately 5 inches or 5 digits (fingers) across.Today, a hand is
4 inches and is used to measure horses (from the ground to the horse's withers, or
shoulder).
Span: A span was the length of the hand stretched out, about 9 inches.
Foot: In ancient times, the foot was 111/42 inches.Today it is 12 inches, the length of the
average man's foot.
Yard: A yard was originally the length of a man's belt or girdle, as it was called. In the
12th century, King Henry I of England fixed the yard as the distance from his nose to
the thumb of his out-stretched arm.Today it is 36 inches.
Cubit: In ancient Egypt, a cubit was the distance from the elbow to the fingertips.
Today a cubit is about 18 inches.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Origins of Measurements (Metric)
The French originated the meter in the 1790s as one/ten-millionth of the
distance from the equator to the north pole along a meridian through Paris. It
is realistically represented by the distance between two marks on an iron bar
kept in Paris.The word “metric” comes from the Latin word “metricus” or
from the Greek word “metron,” both meaning measure.The metric system is
based on the meter.
This shows the close association between measurement system and nature’s
creation.
In both Metric and Amstrong measurement system are derived from
Proportions of nature and human body.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
Le Corbusier developed the Modular
man in the long tradition of Vitruvius,
Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, the
work of Leon Battista Alberti, and other
attempts to discover mathematical
proportions in the human body and
then to use that knowledge to improve
both the appearance and function of
architecture.The system is based on
human measurements, the double unit,
the Fibonacci numbers, and the golden
ratio. Le Corbusier described it as a
"range of harmonious measurements to
suit the human scale, universally
applicable to architecture and to
mechanical things"
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture
created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
The Modulor Man was meant as a
universal system of proportions.The
ambition was vast: it was devised to
reconcile maths, the human form,
architecture and beauty into a single
system.This system could then be
used to provide the measurements
for all aspects of design from door
handles to cities, and Corbusier
believed that it could be further
applied to industry and mechanics.
The fundamental "module" of the
Modulor is a six-foot man, allegedly
based on the usual height of the
detectives in the English crime
novels Corbusier enjoyed

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales
The Modulor was, however, as
arbitrary as any human
measurement: its six-foot basis was
plucked out of the air, there was no
reason the Modulor Man couldn't be
five foot ten or six foot two. As is
often said, a six-foot rule is hardly
fair to women and children. Also,
Corbusier's own application of it was
somewhat haphazard but his work
certainly enlightened us about
relationship between mathematics,
nature, human ergonomics and
architecture.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci numbers and Modular Man Mathematics
The Fibonacci Sequence is the
series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,
13, 21, 34, ...The next number is
found by adding up the two
numbers before it.The 2 is found
by adding the two numbers before
it (1+1)
Mark the proportions of Modular
man measured by mm
6, 9, 15, 24, 39, 63……..1130, 1829
11, 18, 30, 48, 76 ………1397, 2260

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation
Johannes Kepler (1571–
1630) is observed that a
fibonacci number when
divided with the previous
number in sequence have
a constant ratio of
progression after initial
few numbers.
144 / 89 = 1.618
233 /144 = 1.618
377 /233 = 1.618

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation
Pi or p (3.14…) is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, Phi
or Φ (1.618 …) is the Golden Ratio that results when a line is divided in one
very special and unique way.To illustrate, suppose you were asked to take a
string and cut it. There’s any number of places that you could cut it, and each
place would result in different ratios for the length of the small piece to the
large piece, and of the large piece to the entire string.There is one unique
point, however, at which the ratio of the large piece to the smaller piece is
exactly the same as the ratio of the whole string to the larger piece, and at
this point this Golden Ratio of both is 1.618 to 1, or Phi.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation
What makes this so much more than an interesting exercise in mathematics is that this
proportion appears throughout creation and extensively in the human face and body.
It’s found in the proportions of many other animals, in plants, in the solar system and
even in the price and timing movements of stock markets and
foreign currency exchange. Its appeal thus ranges from mathematicians to doctors to
naturalists to artists to investors to mystics. This is known as golden ratio, divine
proportion, golden mean, or golden section(Φ)

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Fibonacci Sequence Graphical representation
Leonardo Bonacci also known as Fibonacci, and also known as Leonardo of
Pisa found Fibonacci Sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, … Phidias a
Greek sculptor and mathematician found golden ratio. Keplar derived
many Geometrical constructions to get Golden Ratio.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Construction of Golden Rectangle

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Construction of Golden Rectangle
Fibonacci
Sequence 0, 1,
1, 2, 3, 5, 8

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Construction of Golden Rectangle
If you sum the squares of any series of Fibonacci numbers, they will equal
the last Fibonacci number used in the series times the next Fibonacci
number. This property results in the Fibonacci spiral, based on the
following progression and properties of the Fibonacci series:

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Construction of Golden Rectangle

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Error In Modular System
Le Corbusier thought that by using a simple
geometrical extension you could derive a
rectangle with sides 1:2 from a rectangle
with sides of the ratio 1:φ. After all,
adjacent squares make plans and facades
that fit the modernist aesthetic of symmetry
and simplicity.
In a book on architectural proportion
Richard Padovan records that when this
error in constructive geometry was pointed
out, Le Corbusier consulted a
mathematician friend.The mathematician
confirmed that Le Corbusier’s constructive
method was out by 0.006 from what he
expected (Padovan 1999)

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Error In Modular System
When Le Corbusier discovered the error in
his attempt to derive two squares from the
Golden Rectangle, he thought this revealed
something about the difference between
architecture and philosophy
he concludes
‘the thing is not open and shut; it is not
sealed; there is a chink to let in the air; life
is there, awakened by the occurrence of a
fateful equality which is not exactly, not
strictly equal … And that is what creates
movement.

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Golden Ratio in Architecture

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Some common Day today things in Golden Ratio

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Some common Day today things in Golden Ratio

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Principles of Design
Proportions & Scales Analysis
Some common Day today things in Golden Ratio