Design Principles Week 2 - Lecture and Exercise 2

31.8.2021 (Week 2)

Sasilvia Cheong Pei Hoong / 0345031 / Bachelors of Design in Creative Media

Design Principles

Exercise 2

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Lecture 2

Balance and Emphasis

Balance

- The distribution of visual weight in a design work is referred to as balance. It can be either symmetrical balance or asymmetrical balance.

a) Symmetrical Balance

- Has the same amount of weight on both sides of a centrally located fulcrum

Fig. 1.1 Symmetrical Balance

3 Kinds of symmetrical balance :

- Bilateral balance is where there is an equal arrangement of elements

- Radial balance is when elements are distributed equally around a central point

- Approximate symmetry is when equivalent but not identical forms are grouped around the fulcrum line

Fig. 1.2 Approximate symmetry

b) Asymmetrical Balance

- Unequal visual weight

- A dominant element on one side of the composition could be balanced by a couple or more minor focus points on the other side

- It provides additional visual variation, yet it might be more difficult to produce due to the more complicated interactions between pieces

Fig. 1.3 Asymmetrical balance

The Golden Ratio

- Is a mathematical concept, which can be found everywhere, from the number of leaves on a tree to the shape of seashell

- Representative of perfect beauty or is uniquely found throughout nature

- It can be utilized to bring harmony, balance, and structure to a work by using this guide to achieve visual equilibrium in architecture and art

Fig. 1.4 Golden ratio

Rule of Thirds

- Composition guideline 

- An image is divided into three parts, putting the main subject at the intersection of those dividing lines

Fig. 1.5 Rule of thirds in a film

Emphasis and Dominance

- Create dominance and focus in a design work

- Colour, shapes or value can be used to achieve dominance

Fig. 1.6 The rainbow umbrella and snowy white background

LECTURE 3

Repetition and Movement

Repetition

- Repetition may make a piece of art appear more alive

- Repeating a single element in a design multiple times creates repetition

- To avoid monotony variety is important

- Pattern increase visual excitement by enriching surface interest

Fig. 1.7 Repetition of a man riding a horse

Movement

- A design that leads the eye

- Motion or movement that occurs when objects seem to be moving in a visual image

- Movement in a visual image comes from the kinds of shapes, forms, lines, and curves that are used

Fig. 1.8 A illusion design that appears to be moving

Hierarchy

- Choreography of content in a composition to communicate information and covey meaning

- The most significant information is shown first, while supplementary content is identified for navigation

Fig. 1.9 Hierarchy

Alignment

- Placement of elements in a way that edges line up along common rows or columns, or their bodies along a common center

- Sense of unity and cohesion, perceived stability

- Alignment can lead a person through a design

Fig. 1.10 Poster Alignment

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TASKS

INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE 2

We are tasked to choose two principle from Emphasis/ Balance/ Repetition/ Movement. Produce 1 design for each chosen principle.

Visual Research

Repetition

Fig. 2.1 Human symbol repeated

I found this image of humans symbol that is repeated and  placed in the frame, to avoid monotony the 9th human symbol is coloured in red.

Movement

Fig. 2.2 Whirlpool

This image of a whirlpool to be really captivating and I was really drawn to it as I can feel the movement of the water moving just by looking at the image of it.

Idea Exploration

Fig. 2.3 Sketch for movement design

I decided to incorporate the whirlpool movement into a coffee mug with a top view where the swirl of the water solution can be seen clearly and draw the attention of viewers.

FINAL OUTCOME

Repetition

Fig. 3.1 Final design for repetition

Silhouette of human figures are copy and pasted, shadows on the bottom of the image is created by distorting the human figures and lowering the opacity. The human figure is to avoid monotony while the upper part is negative space.

 

Fig. 3.2 Final design for repetition PDF

   "Don't Look At Me"

This work was actually inspired by a person who has social anxiety, for a situation where they have to go outside or talk to a stranger they will have this feeling where people are just staring at them and judging them which makes them start hearing things and feel uneasy and they just end up breaking down.

Movement

Fig. 3.3 Final design for movement

The water swirl in the mug was created by using the liquify tool in Procreate.

Fig. 3.4 Final design for movement PDF

 "Consumption"

Consuming something once in a while does not have any effect to the body, but once you get addicted and consume the same thing many times daily it starts to poison your body and slowly kills you. This actually represents people who have an addiction of drinking too much coffee, sugary drinks and alcohol daily. The spiral movement of the drink is the drink starting to hypnotize you into drinking more of it, the green and black water is poison while the black background represents darkness where everything else does not matter as long as you drink that cup of poison.

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FEEDBACK

1. Change the colour of one of the human silhouette to avoid monotony.

2. Place the cup on the side to create negative space.

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REFLECTION

This exercise helped me learn a lot about repetition and movement, on how to make them look more interesting. Looking at movements in nature got me inspired, a picture of a whirlpool was dedicated for my final design. Honestly, colours played a huge role in my final outcomes, trying to make them contrast to each other and look aesthetically pleasing.

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REFERENCES

Fig. 1.1 Symmetrical Balance

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsjmmnb/revision/2

Fig. 1.2 Approximate symmetry

https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-balance-in-art-182423

Fig. 1.3 Asymmetrical balance

https://brjenkin.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/balance-asymmetrical/

Fig. 1.4 Golden ratio

https://99designs.com/blog/tips/the-golden-ratio/

Fig. 1.5 Rule of thirds in a film

https://taketones.com/blog/rule-of-thirds-in-filmmaking

Fig. 1.6 The rainbow umbrella and snowy white background

https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/stua0001/tag/scale/

Fig. 1.7 Repetition of a man riding a horse

https://stpaulms.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/abstract-organic-sculptures/

Fig. 1.8 A illusion design that appears to be moving

https://99designs.com/blog/tips/movement-in-graphic-design/

Fig. 1.9 Hierarchy

https://blog.postermywall.com/design-studio/2018/5/8c690xk0kq0izefm6x77w8s9zsjkr5

Fig. 1.10 Poster Alignment

https://254-online.com/alignment-principle-design/

Fig. 2.1 Human symbol repeated

https://www.lifehack.org/643807/are-you-the-odd-one-out

Fig. 2.2 Whirlpool

https://www.flickr.com/photos/erreeffe/359444433/