Principles of Design.

1. Elements and Principles
Elements of Art and Principles of
Design
Ballenger

2. THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
ART
• Elements of Art: the basic components or building
blocks: color, line, texture, shape/form, value and space.
• Principles of Art: describe the different ways artists can
use each of the elements of art. The principles organize
the elements: balance, contrast, emphasis,
movement, pattern, proportion, rhythm, unity,
harmony and variety.

3. THE PRINCIPLES OF ART
• The Principles of Art organize the elements of
art. You cannot talk about one without the
other.
• The different ways artists can use each of the
elements of art
• The principles of art include: balance,
emphasis, harmony, unity, variety,
movement, rhythm, and proportion.

4. BALANCE
• Balance refers to a way of combining elements
to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a
work of art.
• Imagine the work is split in half.

5. Types of Balance
Balance can be of three kinds:
Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identical
Asymmetrical: two halves are different
Radial: objects are positioned around a central point
These two drawings are both balanced. How
has the artist balanced them?

6. BALANCE
• Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identical
African, Chibinda Ilunga, mid-19th century, Northeastern
Angola, Chokwe people, Wood, hair, and hide
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait, 1940, Oil on canvas

8. BALANCE
Precolumbian, Presentation of Captives to a Maya Ruler, c.
A.D. 785, Limestone with traces of paint, Kimbell Art
Museum (Fort Worth)
• Asymmetrical: two halves are different
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the
Painter's Mother known as "Whistler's Mother," 1871, Oil on canvas

9. BALANCE
• Radial: objects are positioned around a central point
Rose Window of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris,
interior view, 1163-1345
England, 17th century, Charger of Charles II in the
Boscobel Oak, c. 1685, lead-glazed earthenware
with slip decoration,

10. CONTRAST
• Contrast is a way of juxtaposing elements of art to stress
the differences between them.
• Created when two unlike qualities are placed together.
• Creates excitement and interest.
• An artwork can have high contrast or low contrast (strong
or subtle). High contrast tends towards a more dramatic
effect, while low contrast tends towards soothing and
settling.

11. Mike Loudermilk, High Contrast
Color Barn, Photograph, 2010
Lee Miller, Untitled (Exploding Hand),
1930; c. Lee Miller Archives, England 2011

12. EMPHASIS
• Emphasis is a way of combining the elements of art to give
importance or dominance to some feature (or features) of an
artwork
• Contrasting elements often are used to direct and focus the
viewer’s attention on the most important parts of a design.
• Could also be called to “focal point”
• Emphasis can be achieved by: increased size, strong colour,
greater detail, sharp contrast, distorted shape, placement in
the composition, movement of the image leading the eye to a
focal point.

13. PRACTICE: EMPHASIS
Describe the emphasis in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?
Francesco Goya, The Shootings of May Third 1808, 1814, Oil on canvas

14. MOVEMENT
• Movement is the principle of art used to create the look
and feeling of action and to guide the viewer’s eye
throughout the work of art.
• Implied Movement is achieved through placement of
elements so that the eye follows a certain path, such as
the curve of a line, the contours of shape, or the
repetition of certain colors, textures, or shapes.
• It creates a look of action and liveliness in the work of
art.

15. PRACTICE: MOVEMENT
Describe the movement in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show movement?
Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Oil on canvas

16. Pattern
• A repeated form, or design especially that is
used to decorate something.
• Something that happens a regular and
repeated way.

17. Pattern
• Pattern can be created
by using repeated
shapes, colors, lines, or
objects. In this work
Klimt uses pattern in
the background and on
the dress the woman is
wearing.

18. PROPORTION
• Proportion is the principle of art concerned with the
relationship of certain elements to the whole and to each
other.
• The use of proportion may tell about the relative
importance of a particular object or symbol in a work of
art.
• Scale is an element of proportion. It is a comparison of
one entire object in relation to other like objects

19. PRACTICE: PROPORTION
In the painting the house is smaller than the girl. This tells the viewer that the
house is far away. Artists often use proportion to create perspective within
a work. This is a realistic proportion.
Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World, 1948, Tempera on gessoed panel

20. PRACTICE: PROPORTION
The artist has used proportion to give this seemingly flat work a sense of
depth. The smaller people within the work seem farther away. We will
discuss the proportion within this work further in the next assignment.

21. PRACTICE: PROPORTION
Ben Shahn (American) 1898-1969, Poster

22. RHYTHM
• Closely related to movement, rhythm is
created by the careful placement of repeated
elements in a work of art to cause a visual
tempo or beat.
• These repeated elements invite the viewer’s
eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly from
one to the next.

23. PRACTICE: RHYTHM
The artist has used red, yellow, blue, squares and rectangles in this work. The
colors and shapes vary throughout the work, which causes your eye to
move around the canvas. This creates rhythm in this work.
Rhythm is created by the careful
placement of repeated elements
in a work of art to cause a
visual tempo, or beat.
Piet Mondrian,
Broadway Boogie Woogie,
1942-1943, Oil on canvas

24. Marsden Hartley (1877–1943)
American Indian Symbols, 1914
Oil on canvas
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

26. HARMONY also “Unity”
• Harmony refers to a way of combining similar elements
in an artwork to accent their similarities.
• Unity is the feeling that everything in the work of art
works together and looks like it fits.
• It is accomplished through the use of repetitions and
subtle, gradual changes. Complex, intricate relationships
are avoided in favor of a more uncomplicated, uniform
appearance.

27. PRACTICE: HARMONY and Unity
This work is unified in color, shape and subject matter.
Can you describe this more thoroughly?

28. How is this work Unified?
This work is unified in color scheme and the placement of the objects within the work.

29. How is this work Unified?

30. VARIETY
• Variety is a way of combining elements in involved ways
to create intricate and complicated relationships.
• It is achieved through diversity and change. Variety
occurs when an artist creates something that looks
different from the rest of the artwork.
• Artists turn to this principle when they want to increase
the visual interest of their works.

31. PRACTICE: VARIETY
How did this artist use variety?
Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII, 1913, Oil on canvas