| |
| Chapter
3 Principles of Design. |
| Actual balance |
Equality in amount of weight. Contrast with
pictorial balance. |
| Asymmetrical balance
|
The type of balance that is said to exist
when the right and left sides of a composition bear visibly
different shapes, colors, textures or other elements, yet they
are arranged or weighted in such a way that the impression,
in total, is one of balance. Contrast with symmetrical balance.
|
| Balance |
The distribution of the weights, masses, or
other elements of a work of art so as to achieve harmony. |
| Bilateral symmetry
|
Mirror-type similarity between the sides of
a composition. Also termed pure symmetry or formal
symmetry. |
| Conceptual unity
|
Unity in a work that is achieved by means
of the relationships between the meaning and functions of the
images. |
| Emphasis |
The design principle that focuses the viewer's
attention on one or more parts of a composition by accentuating
certain shapes, intensifying value or color, featuring directional
lines, or strategically placing the objects and images. |
| Focal point |
A specific part of a work of art that seizes
and holds the viewer's interest. |
| Golden mean |
The principle that a small part of a work
should relate to a larger part of the work as the larger part
relates to the whole. |
| Golden rectangle
|
A rectangle based on the Golden Mean
and constructed so that its width is 1.618 times its height.
|
| Golden section |
Developed in ancient Greece, a mathematical
formula for determining the relationship of the parts of a work
to the whole. |
| Hierarchical scaling
|
The use of relative size to indicate the relative
importance of the objects or people being depicted. |
| Horizontal balance
|
A kind of balance in which the elements in
the left and right sides of the composition seem to be about
equal in number or visual emphasis. |
| Imbalance |
Characteristic of works of art in which the
areas of the composition are unequal in actual weight or pictorial
weight. |
| Pictorial balance
|
The distribution of the apparent or visual
weight of the elements in two-dimensional works of art.
Contrast with actual balance. |
| Picture plane |
The flat, two-dimensional surface on which
a picture is created. In much Western art, the picture plane
is viewed as a window opening onto deep space. |
| Proportion |
The relationship of the size of the parts
to the whole. |
| Radial balance |
A kind of balance in which the design elements
radiate from a center point. |
| Rhythm |
The orderly repetition or progression of the
visual elements in a work of art. |
| Scale |
The relative size of an object as compared
to other objects, the setting, or people. |
| Symmetrical balance
|
The type of balance in which imagery on one
side of a composition is mirrored on the other side. Symmetrical
balance can be pure, or it can be approximate, in which
case the whole of the work has a symmetrical feeling, but slight
variations provide more visual interest than would a mirror
image. |
| Symmetry |
Similarity of form or arrangement on both
sides of a dividing line. |
| Unity |
The oneness or wholeness of a work of art.
|
| Vertical balance
|
A kind of balance in which the elements in
the top and bottom of the composition are in balance. |
| Visual unity |
The unity in a work of art as created by use
of visual elements. Contrast with conceptual unity. |
