Podcast #3 Principles of Design

Define principles of design?
~concepts used to arrange the structural elements of a composition
 
What do the principles of design affect?
~the expressive content or the message of the work
 
What is the principle of repetition?
~repeating some aspect or element of the design throughout the entire document
 
Describe ways that the principle of repetition helps the composition/audience?
~acts as a visual key that ties your piece together; controls the reader's eye and helps keep attention to the piece
 
What are ways that you can incorporate repetition into your designs?
~bold font, thick line, certain bullet, color, design element, particular format, or spatial relationship
 
What should you avoid when working with repetition?
~not to repeat so much that it becomes annoying or overwhelming
 
What is the principle of proportion/scale?
~refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design; relationship between the objects/parts of a whole
 
What is the most universal standard of measure when judging size?
~human body
 
How can the principle of proportion/scale be used as an attention getter?
~unusual or unexpected scale
 
What is the principle of balance?
~the distribution of heavy and light elements on the page
 
Which kinds of elements/shapes visually weigh heavier/greater?
~large elements
 
What is another name for symmetrical balance?
~formal balance
 
Define symmetrical balance?
~occurs when the weight of a composition is evenly distributed around a central vertical or horizontal axis; exists when there are identical elements on both sides of the axis
 
What is another name for asymmetrical balance?
~informal balance
 
Define asymmetrical balance?
~occurs when the weight of the composition is not evenly distributed around the central axis; exists when both sides are not identical
 
What is the principle of emphasis?
~the stressing of a particular area of focus rather than the maze of details of equal importance
 
What happens to a design that has no focus?
~nothing stands out
 
What is a focal point and how is it created?
~center of interest, where the eye tends to go first; created by making one element dominant with all other areas contributing but subordinate
 
How many components of a composition can be a focal point?
~one
 
What ways can emphasis be created in a design?
~contrasting the primary element with its subordinate, sudden change in direction, size, shape, texture, color, tone, or line
 
What is the principle of unity?
~the whole-ness of a composition; a feeling that all the elements work together
 
What three ways can unity be obtained?
~1. Put objects close to one another

~2. Make things similar

~3. Direct vision by a line, actual or implied, that travels around the design

What is the principle of variety?
~pretains to the differences and diversity; makes a work of art interesting
 
What ways can a designer add variety to a design?
~vary textures, color, and shapes & alter their contrast, tone, and intensity
 
Why is it important to find the right balance between unity and variety?
~too much unity can be boring, and too much variety can look chaotic; find the right balance to have a successful effective design
 
What is figure?
~a form, silhoutte, or shape; part of a composition that we pay attention to
 
What is another name for figure?
~positive shape
 
What is ground?
~the surrounding area around the figure
 
What is another name for ground?
~negative space
 
When a composition is abstract (has no recognizable subject) what will the figure depend on? What does that mean?
~what you see first; whatever you see first is the figure, and the rest will be the ground
 
Why must a designer consider the composition as a whole?
~because the figure/ground relationship is very important; you need to consider everything or else the image will only be partially designed
 
What is the principle of rhythm?
~the continuity, recurrences or organized movement in space and time
 
How is rhythm achieved?
~through the orderly repetition of any element, line, shape, value, tone, or textures
 
What three ways can rhythm occur in a design?
~1. when the intervals between the elements, and often the elements themselves are similar in size or length

~2. with a more organic, flowing, sense of movement

~3. a sequence of shapes through a progession of steps

How does rhythm help a composition/design?
~controls the viewer's eye movement; also adds "life" and interaction to an otherwise inanimate page layout
 
What is the principle of contrast?
~occurs when two related elements are different; the greater the difference, the greater the contrast
 
How can contrast help a design?
~draws the viewers eye into the piece and helps guide the viewers through it; adds visual interest
 
What is wrong with having too much or too little contrast in a design?
~too much similarity becomes monotonous and boring; too much contrast can be confusing
 
What is the key to working with contrast?
~make sure the differences are obvious
 
What are some common ways of creating contrast?
~create differences in size, value, color, type, texture, shape,  alignment, direction, or movement