Prof. Geraldine L.

Canlas
Principles of Design refer to the visual
strategies used by artists, in conjunction
with the elements of arts – for expressive
purposes (Fichner-Rathus, 2008).
They include:

Harmony Unity
Balance Simplicity
Rhythm Clarity
Emphasis Contrast
Proportion Variety
draw and hold the viewer’s eye on certain parts of a work
How we apply the principles of design
determines how successful we are in
creating a work of art.
 PRE-ACTIVITY

Directions: Identify the principle of design

that is best applied in each of the given
visuals.
Visual 1
Which principle of design is shown in Visual 1?
A. Harmony 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Balance
C. Rhythm
D. Emphasis

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Which principle of design is shown in Visual 1?
A. Harmony 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Balance
C. Rhythm
D. Emphasis

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Visual 2
Which principle of design is shown in Visual 2?
A. Balance 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Rhythm
C. Proportion
D. Emphasis

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Which principle of design is shown in Visual 2?
A. Balance 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Rhythm
C. Proportion
D. Emphasis

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Visual 3
Which of the principles of design is shown in
Visual 3? 25% 25% 25% 25%

A. Balance
B. Contrast
C. Emphasis
D. Variety

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Visual 4
Which principle of design is shown in Visual 4?
A. Rhythm 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Harmony
C. Unity
D. Variety

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Which principle of design is shown in Visual 4?
A. Rhythm 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Harmony
C. Unity
D. Variety

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Visual 5
Which principle of design is shown in Visual 5?
A. Harmony 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Rhythm
C. Proportion
D. Balance

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Which principle of design is shown in Visual 5?
A. Harmony 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Rhythm
C. Proportion
D. Balance

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Visual 6
Which principle of design is shown in Visual 6?
A. Emphasis 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Balance
C. Simplicity
D. Contrast

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Which principle of design is shown in Visual 6?
A. Emphasis 25% 25% 25% 25%

B. Balance
C. Simplicity
D. Contrast

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HARMONY
Harmony in visual
design means all
parts of the visual
image relate to and
complement each
other.
Harmony is the visually satisfying effect of
combining similar or related elements.
RHYTHM

 is organized movement, a beat, a repetition.

 is created by repetition, and repetitive patterns

convey a sense of movement.

 in the visual arts, the viewer perceives rhythm by

grouping elements such as color, line and shape.
Rhythmical patterns help the eye
to move easily from one part of
the room to another or from one
part of a design to another.
Wind wrinkles sand dunes in Death Valley, California.
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Low tide reveals a rippled tidal flat in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Photograph by Darlyne A. Murawski
Strange creatures slithering up from the Empty Quarter desert floor in the
Arabian Peninsula are really a network of barchan dunes—sculpted by
winds that over time strike the sand from a consistent direction.
Photograph by George Steinmetz
Regular Repetition
A means of creating
rhythm in which elements
of a composition are
duplicated at orderly or
fixed intervals.
The easiest and most
precise way to create
rhythm.
Regular repetition was
a core property of
Minimalist artists, of Dan Flavin. Untitled (to Jan and Ron Greenberg),
installation view at the Dan Flavin Art Institute,
which Flavin was one. Bridgehampton, NY. (1972–73) Fluorescent light (96”x96”).
Regular Repetition
Donald Judd’s sculpture in particular was based on Minimalism. An abstract art
the repetition of simple geometric shapes mounted movement begun in the 1960s that
emphasizes the use of pure
on walls or set on the floor in a steady, evenly and simple shapes and materials.
spaced pattern.
Alternating
Rhythm
a type of rhythm
in which different
elements in a work
repeat themselves
in predictable
order.
 Progressive
Rhythm
Minor variations in
rhythm can add interest
to a composition.

Such variations are

seen in progressive
rhythm, in which the
rhythm of elements of
a work of art such as
shape, texture, or color
change slightly as they
move, or progress
toward a defined point
in the composition.
 Balance
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.
 In architectural works like the United States Capitol – the house in
which the laws of the land are created – repetition and symmetry can
imply rationality and decorum, tying the structure of the building to a
certain symbolic ideal.
Leonardo da Vinci. Study of
Human Proportion: The
Vitruvian Man (1492) Pen and
Ink drawing (13 ½” x 9 ¾”).
Types of Balance
Symmetrical Balance Asymmetrical Balance
 the type of balance in which  the type of balance in which
the elements of a work are there are more than slight
balanced by similarity of form differences between the
or arrangement on either side divided areas of a work, yet
of a dividing line or plane, or there is an overall sense of
to correspondence of parts, as balance.
in size, shape, or position.
 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.
Balance in a three dimensional object is easy
to understand; if balance isn't achieved, the
object tips over.

To understand balance in a two dimensional

composition, we must use our imaginations to
carry this three dimensional analogy forward
to the flat surface.
“All emphasis is no emphasis.”
50% 50%
A. True
B. False

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“All emphasis is no emphasis.”
50% 50%
A. True
B. False

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Example of Emphasis
Get the Glass
Emphasis by Directional Lines

Directional lines. Lines that

lead the eye to a focal point.

Oskar Schlemmer Bauhaus Stairway (1932)

Oil on canvas (63 7/8” x 45”)
Emphasis by Isolation
Here a group of performers is
found standing silently within a
barren landscape. Even though
there are many of them and
they are dressed in their
costumes, they are less likely to
draw the viewer’s eye than the
delicately rendered woman in
“street clothes,” who is seated
apart in the lower right and
looks beyond the edge of the
canvas.

Picasso’s emphasis on the

woman’s aloneness draws us
to her along the edge of the
canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Family of Saltimbanques (1905) Oil on canvas

(83 3/4” x 90 3/8”).
Unity is a powerful concept.

In art, unity implies harmony. It suggests that

the parts of a composition are there by
happenstance; rather, they fit together to
form a meaningful whole.
 Unity is powerful, but, as the British writer
Aphra Behn said, “Variety is the soul of pleasure.”
Without variety, life would comprise a bland
sameness, a cookie-cutter existence from which we
all shrink. Variety in art, as in life, is seductive. It
demands our attention, turns the predictable on
edge.
PROPORTION
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
proportions.
CONTRAST
 FINAL ACTIVITY

Directions: Identify the principle of design

that is best applied in each of the given
visuals.
Visual No. 1
Which principle of design is shown in visual 1?
A. Emphasis by 33% 33% 33%
Directional Lines
B. Emphasis by
Isolation
C. Emphasis by
weight

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 1?
A. Emphasis by 33% 33% 33%
Directional Lines
B. Emphasis by
Isolation
C. Emphasis by
weight

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Visual No. 2
Which principle of design is shown in visual 2?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Balance
B. Emphasis
C. Proportion
D. Rhythm

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 2?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Balance
B. Emphasis
C. Proportion
D. Rhythm

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Visual No. 3
Which principle of design is shown in visual 3?

25% 25% 25% 25%

A. Contrast
B. Harmony
C. Balance
D. Emphasis

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 3?

25% 25% 25% 25%

A. Contrast
B. Harmony
C. Balance
D. Emphasis

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Visual No. 4
Which principle of design is shown in visual 4?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Harmony
B. Simplicity
C. Balance
D. Emphasis

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 4?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Harmony
B. Simplicity
C. Balance
D. Emphasis

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Visual No. 5
Which principle of design is shown in visual 5?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Balance
B. Rhythm
C. Contrast
D. Emphasis

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 5?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Balance
B. Rhythm
C. Contrast
D. Emphasis

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Visual No. 6
Which principle of design is shown in visual 6?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Variety
B. Balance
C. Rhythm
D. Proportion

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Which principle of design is shown in visual 6?
25% 25% 25% 25%
A. Variety
B. Balance
C. Rhythm
D. Proportion

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Reference:

Fichner-Rathus, L. (2008). Foundations of art and design.

USA: Thomson Learning, Inc.