Principles of Design

Artist manipulate the elements of art to form compositions that

have a certain unity. In trying to determine what holds an effective
work together, theorists have distinguished a number of principles
that seem to be involved.

Repetition, Variety or Contrast, Rhythm,

Balance, Compositional Unity, Emphasis,
Economy, and Proportion.

These principles give us a basis for understanding how art works

aesthetically.
 Repetition
One of the basic ways
that artist have unified
their designs is to repeat
a single design element:
a line, shape, form,
texture, value, or color.

The repetition of a
design element serves to
give the viewer a
perception of order,
thereby unifying the
overall composition.

Lucy T. Pettway, Birds in the Air, 1981.

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Agora, 2005. Cast Iron.
Jose Clemente Orozco, Zapatistas, 1931. Oil on
Guernica, oil on canvas by Pablo Picasso, 1937
 Variety

Variety: Change rather

than sameness in design
elements.

Variety is often seen in

the context of repetition
or as the companion of
repetition. While
repetition brings a kind
of order, variety often
serves to “activate” an
artwork, leading the
viewer’s eyes from place
to place to survey the
whole work.
Lance Wyman, logo for XIX Olympiad, 1966.
 Variety

Another way in which

variety is expressed is
through transitions, or
gradual changes from
one state to another, a
line may change in
character, or a form may
dissolve into unfilled
space.

Also contrast, an abrupt

change, is expressed in
this painting.

Helen Frankenthaler, Essence Mulberry,

1977. Woodcut.
Jacopo Tintoretto, Leda and the Swan, Oil on
canvas. 1570-75.
Rhythm
Rhythm: The
visual equivalent
of notes and
pauses in music,
created by
repetition,
variety, and
spacing in a
design.
Rhythm is
similar to
repetition and
serves the same
purpose; they
sometimes go
hand
in hand.
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1131,
"Whirls and Twirls", 2004
 Balance
Balance: The distribution
of apparent visual weights
through a composition. We
subconsciously assign
visual weight to parts of a
work, and we tend to want
the parts to be distributed
through the work in such a
way that they seem to
balance each other.

Symmetrical Balance:
Distribution of equal forces
around a central point or
axis. If an imaginary
vertical axis were drawn Wood chest of the Haida people of Queen
right through the center of Charlotte Island, off the northwest coast of
North America, 19th century.
the piece, the two halves of
the central figure and the
geometric animal extending
 Balance
• Elements may also be
symmetrically arranged
around a central point in all
directions, in which case the
composition may be referred
to as radial balance.

Tibetan thangka, The Wheel of Life,

20th century, Tempera.
• When the weights of dissimilar areas Thomas Gainsborough, Mr.
counterbalance each other, the result and Mrs. Andrews, 1749.
is called asymmetrical. Oil on canvas
Sometimes artists violate
the principle of balance Nancy Graves, Trace, 1979
intentionally to create
tension in their works.
Compositiona
l Unity

Compositional Unity:
Compositional unity is
determined by the
relationship of elements
contained in a work.
Sometimes a single
element (a shape or a
color, for example) is
used to create the
overall compositional Pietro Perugino
Italian, c. 1450 - 1523
unity; sometimes two
The Crucifixion with the Virgin,
elements are set up in Saint John, Saint Jerome, and
opposition, creating a Saint Mary Magdalene [right
kind of “energy of panel], c. 1482/1485
opposition” or tension.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Boating Party, 1881. Oil
on Canvas.
Hagesandrus,
Athenodorus, and
Polydorus, Laocoon,
first century,
Marble.
 Emphasis

Emphasis: Predominance of one area or element in a composition.

The artist may want to emphasize a single area or element of
design in a composition, perhaps by setting up a focal point around
which the rest of the elements are placed. However, when dealing
with a pattern, equal emphasis may be given to all parts through
 Economy
Economy: The use of as
few means as possible to
achieve a desired visual
result.

A work of art or a design

might be effected through
economy of means by
“presenting only the
minimum of information
needed by the viewer.”
This approach is followed
by graphic designers as
well as fine and applied
artists who wish to convey
the essence of an idea as
clearly as possible.

Liang Kai, The Poet Li Bo, 13

century. Ink on paper.
 Econom
y
Graphic designers are
challenged to suggest
very complex forms or
ideas with very few
visual clues. A
successful logo is a
highly refined image
that shows the nature of
an entire group or
corporation with an
absolute minimum of
marks.

Peter Good, logo for the Hartford

Whalers Hockey Club, 1979.
Proportio
n
Proportion refers
to the relative size
and scale of the
various elements
in a design. The
issue is the
relationship
between objects,
or parts, of a
whole. This means
that it is necessary
to discuss
proportion in terms
of the context or
standard used to
determine John Singer Sargent, Daughters of Edward
Darley Boit, 1882
proportions.
Proportion
Our most universal
standard of measurement
is the human body; that is,
our experience of living in
our own bodies. We judge
the appropriateness of
size of objects by that
measure.

Architectural spaces
intended to impress are
usually scaled to a size
that dwarfs the human
viewer. This is a device
often used in public
spaces, such as churches
or centers of government.
The same principle is
often applied to corporate
spaces through which the
Scale is the relative size of an artwork.
The size of an artwork quite often
affects how the art is viewed and
interpreted by the audience.

Claes Oldenburg, Clothespin, 1976.

 Do-Ho Suh
Public Figures, 2001
Glass fiber reinforced resin, bronze, steel structure.
2094 x 2748 x 2840 cm

“Let’s say if there’s one statue at the plaza of a hero who helped or protected
our country, there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who helped him and
worked with him, and there’s no recognition for them. So in my sculpture,
‘Public Figures,’ I had around six hundred small figures, twelve inches high, six
different shapes, both male and female, of different ethnicities."
- Do-Ho Suh
William Blake
The Vision of the Last
Judgment
Pen and watercolor,
510 x 395 mm
1808