INTRODUCTION TO PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

APPLIED ON DIFFERENT SPACES

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
The Principles are concepts used to organize or arrange the structural elements of design. Again, the
way in which these principles are applied affects the expressive content, or the message of the work.
The principles of design are the rules by which an artist uses the elements of design.
Seven principles encompass an interesting design:
1. Balance
2. Rhythm
3. Emphasis
4. Proportion and scale
5. Movement
6. Contrast
7. Unity

1. BALANCE
-Parts of the design are equally distributed to create a sense of stability. Both physical and visual
balance exist.
-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.
-Balance is the arrangement of lines, colors, values, textures, forms, and space.
-Balance is a psychological sense of equilibrium. As a design principle, balance places the parts of a
visual in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement
Types
• Symmetrical or formal balance
• Asymmetrical or informal balance
• Radial balance
• Vertical balance
• Horizontal balance

SYMMETRICAL / FORMAL BALANCE

-The elements within the design are identical in relation to a centerline or axis.
-Symmetrical balance can be described as having equal "weight" on equal sides of a centrally
placed fulcrum.
-Formal or symmetrical balance has equal weight on both sides.

Example in Architecture:
 Taj Mahal Mausoleum, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

ASYMMETRICAL / INFORMAL BALANCE

- Parts of the design are not identical but are equal in visual weight.
- Asymmetrical balance, also called informal balance, is more complex and difficult to envisage. It
involves placement of objects in a way that will allow objects of varying visual weight to balance
one another around a fulcrum point.
- Informal or asymmetrical balance has a different weight on each side to maintain balance.
- Informal balance is more dynamic than formal balance and normally keeps the learner's
attention focused on the visual message.

Example in Architecture:

Chateau de Chaumont, Saone-et-Loire, France

RADIAL BALANCE
- Design elements radiate outward from the center.
- Arranging elements equally around a central point, resulting in radial symmetry.
- Radial balance is a circular balance moving out from a central object to maintain balance.

Example in Architecture:

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan, Italy

Dresden Frauenkirche, Deresden, Germay

VERTICAL BALANCE
- The top and bottom parts are equal.
Example in Architecture:

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

HORIZONTAL BALANCE
- The parts on the left and right sides are equal.

Example in Architecture:
 Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA

2. RHYTHM
-Repeated use of line, shape, color, texture or pattern
-Rhythm can be described as timed movement through space; an easy, connected path along which
the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs.
-Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement of the elements-colors, shapes, lines, values, forms,
spaces, and textures.

Types
• Regular rhythm
• Graduated rhythm
• Random rhythm
• Gradated rhythm

REGULAR RHYTHM
- An element is repeated at the same repetition/interval each time.
Example in Architecture:

Cube house design, Rotterdam, Netherlands

RANDOM RHYTHM
- The beats of the element are random or are at irregular intervals.
Example in Architecture:
 Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

GRADATED RHYTHM
- The repeated element is identical with the exception of one detail increasing or decreasing
gradually with each repetition.

Example in Architecture:

Chinese Pagoda

3. EMPHASIS
- The feature in a design that attracts one’s eye – the focal point
- Emphasis can be achieved through size, placement, shape, color, and/or use of lines
 Mosque, Egypt

4. PROPORTION AND SCALE

- Comparative relationships between elements in a design with respect to size
- 3:5 ratio is known as the Golden Mean

Example in Architecture:

Washington Monument, Washington DC

5. MOVEMENT
- Flow or feeling of action

Example in Architecture:

Ziggurat
6. CONTRAST
- Noticeably different
- Can be created with Color, Proportion and scale, Shape, Texture, Etc.
 Example in Architecture:

7. UNITY
- Unity is achieved by the consistent use of lines, color, material, and/or texture within a design.

Example in Architecture:

Microsoft
Office clipart

REFERENCES:
1. http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/principl/principl.htm
2. http://www.ursyn.com/Orchestra/pages/Toby.html
3. http://www.edb.utexas.edu/minliu/multimedia/PDFfolder/DESIGN~1.PDF
4. http://www.slideshare.net/ArPremlataGupta/112a-principles-and-elements-of-design-applied-to-
architecture-51616404