DESIGN PRINCIPLES (THEORY)

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Visual art is a form of communication. It is an exchange of information, a message, a conveyance of something. At its most insular level this communication can be the artist with only him or herself, an interior dialogue. But in most cases the artist is communicating with an audience, be it only friends or family or 100 million people on network television. The content of a work of art is the communication – the message, the substance, the information being passed. The act of receiving this information can be broken down into three categories; seeing, feeling, and thinking. These experiences can also be described as visual (seeing), emotional (feeling), and intellectual (thinking) (Canaday 59). In the act of visual communication many times all three of these experiences take place, but sometimes one of three is dominant to varying degrees.

DESIGN & ART

Line, space, value, shape, mass, texture, and color are the elements of design. Unity, variety, balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion and scale are the principles of design. When an individual has gained an understanding of these elements and principles he/she is ready to design – to create art. The question is what is to be created? What content are the elements and principles going to convey? The answer to this will vary greatly depending on what field of design or art the person decides to pursue. Will it be in a field in which content is often prescribed by client or supervisor as it is in many areas of commercial art? Or will the individual choose the fine arts where content is more often the choice of the artist? This is a difficult decision for many people, involving weighing many factors outside as well as inside the world of art and design. Whichever the choice, the question of content is of great importance. Even if the content of the work is assigned, it is still your skill and talent either alone or in collaboration that will make the content communicate to others.

Elements of Design

Line

Space

Value

Shape

Mass

Texture

and

Color

are the elements of design.

There are 11 Principles of Design

Balance  Contrast

Emphasis  Variety

Unity/

Harmony  Proportion

Rhythm  Movement

Pattern  Repetition

n

Aesthetics and Design

View more presentations from drew davidson

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

1. Balance
Symetrical, asymmetrical, radial, formal, and informal ways of arranging elements on a page to achieve visual balance is the focus of balance. Also covers the 'rule of thirds' and other structural elements. Our bodies need a balance of nutrients to keep us healthy but every now and then it's OK to feast on chocolate, ice cream, and an entire supersize bag of potato chips. Balance in design is much the same. For most of our reading our eyes and minds are most comfortable with evenly balanced layouts where the graphics don't overpower the text and the page doesn't seem to tilt to one side or the other.

2. Proximity
Learn how to arrange elements on the page through proximity -- keeping like items together and creating unity by how close or far apart elements are from each other. Observe a group of people in a room. You can often learn a lot about who is listening intently to another person, which are strangers, or who is ignoring who by how close together they sit or stand. In design, proximity or closeness creates a bond between people and between elements on a page. How close together or far apart elements are placed suggests a relationship (or lack of) between otherwise disparate parts. Unity is also achieved by using a third element to connect distant parts.

3. Alignment
While centred text has its place it is often the mark of a novice designer. Learn how to align text and graphics to create more interesting, dynamic, or appropriate layouts. Lack of alignment creates a sloppy, unorganized look. Mixing too many alignments can have a similar effect. However, it's also OK to break alignment when it serves a specific purpose such as to intentionally create tension or draw attention to a specific element on the page.
For simple arrangements, items can be aligned using the automatic align options in your software. For more complicated layouts the use of guidelines and grids aid in the precise placement of elements.

4. Repetition / Consistency
Get an understanding of the importance of consistency for the reader and ways to create a consistent and balanced look through different types of repetition.

5. Contrast
Big vs. small, black vs. white. These are some ways to create contrast and visual interest. Learn a variety of ways to use contrast. Contrast is one the principles of design. Contrast occurs when two elements are different. The greater the difference the greater the contrast. The key to working with contrast is to make sure the differences are obvious. Four common methods of creating contrast are by using differences in size, value, colour, and type.
Contrast adds interest to the page and provides a means of emphasizing what is important or directing the reader's eye. On a page without contrast, the reader doesn't know where to look first or what is important. Contrast makes a page more interesting so the reader is more apt to pay attention to what is on the page. Contrast aids in readability by making headlines and subheadings stand out. Contrast shows what is important by making smaller or lighter elements recede on the page to allow other elements to take centre stage.

6. White Space
The art of nothing is another description for this principle. View examples of good and bad use of white space and how to avoid trapped white space.
White space is an important principle of design missing from the page layouts of many novices. White space is nothing. White space is the absence of text and graphics. It breaks up text and graphics. It provides visual breathing room for the eye. Add white space to make a page less cramped, confusing, or overwhelming.

“Whitespace,” or “negative space” is the space between elements in a composition. More specifically, the space between major elements in a composition is “macro whitespace.” Micro whitespace, is—yes, you’ve guessed it—the space between smaller elements: between list items, between a caption and an image, or between words and letters.

Golden Rectangle

Predating time… yea long ago, before civilizations and human life on earth is a phenomenon that occurs in nature. Some call it the golden ratio, golden section, golden mean, other’s the divine ratio. This number Phi ( =1.618033988749895… ). This number is quite a bit more exciting. Before the European Renaissance, before the Greeks fore fronted the depictions of the human face, before the Egyptians, this ratio was and still is seen everywhere.

Cool, so what is it already!?!

Explain please. Well simply, a ratio is a relationship between two values. In this case, if you cut the line like shown, the segments ratio to each other is equal to the ratio between the total width and the large segment. Ooook awesome, so what. Well, as I mentioned, it’s seen in nature all over and there are many variations of it. Here’s a golden rectangle; considered the most beautiful of all rectangles, because of it’s fractal nature (divide it a ton of times into itself), and has therefore been used in paintings and architecture throughout history. I should add in the Fibonacci (Middle ages mathemagician) sequence here, (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34… where each number is obtained from the sum of the two preceding). The resulting ratios between each successive number is 0.618… The reciprocal of the golden ratio actually. Ok math aside! Have a rectangle.

Artists (painters, sculptors) and architects (engineers) used the equation known as the “golden ratio” to map out masterpieces. The Mona Lisa has a face with a perfect golden rectangle base, Queen Nefertiti in 1330 BC, the statue of Athena, DaVinci’s Vetruvian Man, the Christian cross, The Last Supper seating and positioning, depictions of Jesus yes, the Statue of David, the Parthenon, god the list goes on forever… leaves, flowers, a nautilus seashell, elbow to wrist: wrist to hand! Ok, I’m done. … … Butterfly wings!

Ok ok, you get it. Thousands of years later, scientists adopted this mathematical formula to help explain why some people are considered beautiful…and others are not. So why did I write this? Beauty, that’s why. Beauty to me is none other than the female form, proportions, ratios, lengths and widths. I got inspired to write this due to that show I saw, where scientists in Europe (University of Aberdeen in Scotland) are currently pioneering the study of beauty and the human face. Ok, so I took it upon myself to use the following decagon mask on top of people I know… and wish I knew. The decagon mask, developed by Dr. Stephen Marquardt (http://www.beautyanalysis.com/) is just what I’ll be using. This decagon mask was designed using only the golden ratio. All these ratios are again, 1.618… : 1

Length of head : Width of head
Top of head to pupil : Pupil to lip
Pupil to nose : Nose to chin
Nose to chin : Lips to chin
Hair to eyes : Width of eyes
Width of Nose : Length of lips
(It’s crazy I know, but all the same proportion!)

I really hope you enjoyed reading and learning something new! Take a look below at some of the worlds most beautiful people… unfortunately we all don’t look like these people. ALSO, one last thing, if you do watch the documentary on Sex Appeal, you’ll be astonished to realize that it’s ALL about babies! No, I’m not ruining it by telling you; we find beauty in symmetry, beauty in proportions, but above all, when we look at someone, subconsciously we calculate the survivability of our offspring our species. The hips that bear children, strength depicted in male jaw-lines, facial symmetry denotes strong healthy genes, etc. It was a cool show and I found it all amazing, but I am an artist and maybe you are too! Enjoy… these really ridiculously good-looking people.

References:
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm
http://www.goldennumber.net/neophite.htm
http://www.oprah.com/relationships/5-Elements-of-Attractiveness-The-Science-of-Sex-Appeal/
http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~dlnarain/golden/activity8.htm
http://www.beautyanalysis.com/

Some useful websites on Golden Rule.

http://www.goldennumber.net/beauty.htm

Anyone can look hot with a golden ratio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4fUjzqCC-8&hd=1

Everything is connected to the Golden ratio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2bAlIK4KkE&feature=related

http://goldenratiocalculator.com

The Golden Section was known to the ancient civilizations. The ancient architects were asking for the best aesthetic proportion for their buildings. They discovered that the best criterion is the Golden Section.

The dimensions of the great pyramid in Egypt, the Parthenon temple in Athens and the Pantheon temple in Rome were all designed with the Golden Section as the main visual concept. 

In the great pyramid, The ratio between the imaginary mast and the side lengh is a Golden Ratio

In The Parthenon, The Golden Ratios create a Golden Rectangle

The Golden Ratio was used as a perfect artistic criterion, by Rainnessance artists such as Da Vinci and Michael Angelo. Mozart composed his symphonies according to it. It is also in common use in modern art.

The Golden Ratio is very common in Nature. It appears in endless natural phenomenom.

Examples of the Golden Ratio in Nature:

1. Distances between planets 2. Conch shape 3. Tree branching 4. Bee body 5. Fower size

More about the Golden Ratio in Nature

The human body's organs are shaped according to the Golden Section. The ratio was one of the criterions of classic sculpture.

The Golden Section in the Human body

The Golden Section in the fingers

Two consecutive lines' lengh of the ratio can form an elegant rectangle known as: 'The GoldenRectangle'. The U.N. building in New-York was designed according to this shape.

The Golden Rectangle can be divided into smaller squares.

By drawing arches between the corners of each square, a splendid form, known as the 'The Golden Spiral', is created.

How to draw a Golden Spiral

The Golden Spiral is typical to many forms in Nature.

The DNA shape is of two combined Golden Spirals.

We can say, then, that the natural world is built according to this principle.

It is possible that the true shape of the Atom is of a revolving Golden Spiral.

Examples of the Golden Spiral in Nature: A conch and a Sea-horse

The shape of Fractals is based on the Golden Spiral. Fractals have a geometric shape that can be subdivided into parts. Each of them is a reduced-size copy of the whole.

In nature, the form appears, for example, in leafess tree branches on a frosty winter day. You notice that many sub-branches are generated along the way, and each sub-branch has a structure symmetric to the original, but smaller in scale. These sub-branches, in turn, fork off self-symmetric branches of their own.

In the purest sense of a fractal, the branching process is never ending.

 

Examples of Fractals

Thinking with the Golden Ratio is 'Thinking outside the Box'. This is exactly what the new pilot needs when he approaches the landing field.

The Golden Ratio offers a unique way for connection with Nature. This is another, yet true, description of landing.

The Golden Section offers a simple tool for focusing on the landing. This is the Phi-Bar.

The Phi-Bar is a simple ruler along the Colors Spectrum.

Distances between colors are measured according to the Golden Section.

Any three chosen colors create a pleasant visual impression.

These colors can be used as symbols for the three main points of the landing: The beginning of the final approach, the touchdown and the full stop.

VISUAL PERCEPTION

The study of visual design requires at least a glimpse into the complex world of visual perception: how we see. The complexity exists because visual perception encompasses psychology, spirituality, biology and physics, and because much is yet to be understood about visual perception.

It is believed that how we see evolved, along with all our other capacities, through the process of natural selection – our survival characteristics (Myers 1). How we see developed and was modified by natural selection to best enhance our chances to live and procreate. To maximize our chances for survival, visual perception had to convey clear information such as distinguishing a branch from a snake. With this kind of urgent, survival need our brain developed to seek clear meaning from our visual field. The process is immediate and subconscious. It has been called the “perceptual imperative” and is a major survival characteristic. When the brain cannot understand or decipher meaning from a visual experience, the individual may turn off, ignore, disregard or even become hostile. This can help explain much of the general public’s reaction to a great deal of 20th century abstract art. Experiments in sensory deprivation have shown that when we cannot find meaning in our visual environment, mental disorientation and even mental illness can result, and if there is no meaning evident we may invent one (Myers 4).

Biological evolution is not the only influence on our visual perception; experience and learning also play very large roles. We have not only eyes but also ears, nose, skin and tongue. All bring us a barrage of information every second of our waking hours. The brain must take this information and give it meaning. It does so by continually comparing new information with models or paradigms that we already have experienced and have stored in our memories. How each individual interprets the information of their senses is dependent on many things, but primarily on what is already stored in the mind. Our perceptions can be greatly altered by our “state of mind.” Illness often affects how you see and interpret information, as do other physical and mental states such as exhaustion, depression, or elation (Myers 9).

Knowledge and experience provide us with information and models needed to form and change perceptions. Information of the senses alone cannot be relied on. If we did rely on the senses alone, the world would still be flat and the earth would be the center of the universe.

Due to each individual’s unique background and physical qualities no two people receive exactly the same visual information. Our unique visual experiences are due to differences in education, psychological tendencies and our individual imperfections. Our perception is not a constant but a continually evolving process that changes as we change in many ways. What we see around us is not objective reality but a subjective, personalized vision (Myers 10). Our sense of reality is shaped by our thoughts. This is a difficult concept to grasp as we are led to believe that reality is trust upon us by forces outside ourselves. The truth is that we can create a sense of reality by how we think about what we see and experience (Pransky). As an example, suppose we see a garter snake. If we look at the garter snake and think about the beautiful colors and patterns of its skin and about how incredibly rhythmic and controlled its movements are, we create a reality of beauty for that snake. On the other hand, if we look at the same snake and think of negative associations we may have heard concerning snakes we can create a reality of fear.

The uniqueness of each person’s sense of reality is yet another invitation to the concept of tolerance (previously mentioned in relation to subatomic particles). With our perceptions of reality altered by our own personal experiences and physical makeup, it would be highly irrational to expect everyone to see, think, or behave the way you do. This understanding goes beyond tolerance and accepts the reality of individual differences and acknowledges their right to exist.

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE

http://markwmcginnis.wordpress.com/category/design-the-parts-the-whole/