Harmony:

●​ Unity: the presentation of an integrated image

●​ Harmony: the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords
and chord progressions having a pleasing effect
●​ Representational: relating to or characterized by representation
●​ Monochromatic: containing or using only one color
●​ Where Does Unity Come From ?
-​ Composition: implies the same feeling of organization
-​ An important aspect of visual unity is that the whole must predominate over the
parts
●​ Exploring Visual Unity
-​ Collage: the piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as
photographs and pieces of paper or fabric on to a backing
-​ The need for visual unity does not deny that very often there is also an intellectual
pleasure in design
-​ The visual unity function is important along with intellectual reading of the design
Visual Perception
●​ The designer’s job in creating a visual unity is made easier by the fact that the viewer is
actually looking for some sort of organization
●​ The designer must provide some clues, but the viewer is already attempting to find some
coherent pattern and unity
●​ The most widely known of these perception studies is called the gestalt theory of visual
psychology
●​ Gestalt: an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts
●​ How We Look for Unity
-​ Researchers have concluded that viewers tend to group objects that close to each
other into a larger unit
-​ Negative spaces: the empty space in a design or image, and it can be used to
frame, organize, and highlight elements
-​ With all the shapes ending on two common boundaries, the impression of the
slanted white diagonal shape is as strong as the various rectangles
 -​ Our brain will tend to relate and group objects of a similar shape
Proximity:
●​ An easy way to gain unity - to make separate elements look as if they belong together - is
by proximity
●​ Proximity: nearness in space, time, or relationship
●​ Proximity in Composition
-​ Proximity is the simplest way to achieve unity, and many artworks employ this
technique
Repetition:
●​ A valuable and widely used device for achieving visual unity is repetition
●​ Repetition: something simply repeats in various parts of the design to relate the parts to
each
●​ The element that repeats may be almost anything: a color, a shape, a texture, a direction,
or an angle
●​ Repetition is an obvious unifying factor in the patterns found in textiles and the
decorative arts
Continuation:
●​ A third way to achieve unity is by continuation, a more subtle device than proximity or
repetition, which are fairly obvious
●​ Continuation: means that something “continues” - usually a line, and edge, or a direction
from one form to another
●​ The viewer’s eye is carried smoothly from one element to the next
●​ Three Dimensional Design
-​ Continuation is an aspect not only of two dimensional composition
Continuity and The Grid:
●​ Continuation is the planned arrangement of various forms so that their edges are lined up
- hence, forms are “continuous” from one element to another within a design
●​ Serial Design
-​ In a series the same unifying theme continues in successive designs
●​ Using a Grid
 -​ Continuity: to denote the visual relationship between two or more individual
designs
-​ Grid: a network of horizontal and vertical intersecting lines that divide the page
and create a framework of areas
-​ Modules: each of a set of standardized parts or independent units that can be used
to construct a more simplex structure, such as an item of furniture or a building
The Grid:
●​ Design: implies that the various components of a visual image are organized into a
cohesive composition
Varied Repetition:
●​ Variety Adds Visual Interest
-​ Variety: achieved by position, size, and difference in proportion of curved features
-​ The use of unity with variety displayed in the collection of photographs suggests a
more rigid approach
-​ The idea of related variations seems to satisfy a basic human need for visual
interest that can be achieved without theoretical discussions of aesthetics
-​ A conscious use of unity with variety does not necessarily lessen out pleasure as
viewers
Emphasis On Unity:
●​ The principle can encompass a wide variety of extremely different visual images and can
even be contradicted for expressive purposes
●​ Unity through Repetition
-​ Unity without variety can evoke our worst feelings about assembly lines and
institutions
Emphasis On Variety:
●​ To express this aspect of life, many artists have chosen to underplay the unifying
components of their work and let the elements appear at least superficially uncontrolled
and free of any formal design restraints
●​ Variety in Form, Size, Color, and Gesture
-​ Variety is emphasized through the almost infinite subtle differences possible in
the human form
 -​ Assemblage: a collection or gathering of things or people
Chaos And Control:
●​ Without some aspect of unity, an image or design becomes chaotic and quickly
“unreadable”
●​ Without some elements of variety, and image is lifeless and dull and becomes
uninteresting
●​ Graphic: relating to visual art, especially involving drawing, engraving, or lettering
Figurative And Nonobjective:
●​ Unity is not simply a property of related organic shapes or of related geometric elements
●​ An apprehension of unity is a simple and immediate sense of connections resonating
throughout a composition
●​ The elements that build that unity may be simple as well, or they may subtle and more
complex