Podcast 4: Principles of Design

Define principles of design?
concepts used to arrange structural elements of design

What do the principles of design affect?
they affect the message that is sent

What is the principle of repetition?
repeating some aspect of a design throughout the work

Describe ways that the principle of repetition helps the composition/audience?
it controls the readers eye and helps keep their attention on the piece

What are ways that you can incorporate repetition into your designs?
bold font, thick line, certain bullet, color design element, particular format, spatial relationships

What should you avoid when working with repetition?
you can't repeat so much that it is annoying or overwhelming

What is the principle of proportion/scale?
relative size and scale of the various elements in a design

What is the most universal standard of measure when judging size?
the human body

How can the principle of proportion/scale be used as an attention getter?
unusual or unexpected scale is a real good one for doing that

What is the principle of balance?
the overall distribution of heavy and light elements on a page

Which kinds of elements/shapes visually weigh heavier/greater?
irregularo shapes

What is another name for symmetrical balance?
formal balance

Define symmetrical balance?
the weight of a design is evenly distributed about either a vertical or horizontal axis

What is another name for asymmetrical balance?
informal balance

Define asymmetrical balance?
when the weight of a design is NOT balanced AROUND an ais.

What is the principle of emphasis?
stressing a particular area for focus instead of a maze of details of equal importance

What happens to a design that has no focus?
nothing stands out, boooooorrrrriiinnnnnggggngngng

What is a focal point and how is it created?
you have to make one area dominant while making all other areas contributing or subordinate

How many components of a composition can be a focal point?
there can be only one!!

What ways can emphasis be created in a design?
sudden change in direction size shape texture color tone or line

What is the principle of unity?
its the wholeness of a compostion

What three ways can unity be obtained?
1. put objects close together for sure

2. or you could probably make things closer

3. and last and also not very much so the leastest, you can use lines that guide the eyes around a design

What is the principle of variety?
differences and diversity in work, makes things interesting

What ways can a designer add variety to a design?
by varying textures colors and shapes, and altering their tone contrast and intensity

Why is it important to find the right balance between unity and variety?
so that you are not boring or chaotic and so that you can achieve an effective design

What is figure?
what the eye differentiates as what it should look at

What is another name for figure?
positive space

What is ground?
the area surrounding the figure

What is another name for ground?
negative space

When a composition is abstract (has no recognizable subject) what will the figure depend on? What does that mean?
It will depend on the relationships betwixt the elements.  It means that the design will be abstract

Why must a designer consider the composition as a whole?
because rythym and unity are important to an effective design

What is the principle of rhythm?
using common elements throughout the work to guide readers

How is rhythm achieved?
using similar elements in effective patterns

What three ways can rhythm occur in a design?
1.intervals between elements are the same

2.a more organic sense of movement

3.a sequence of shapes across the space-time continuum

How does rhythm help a composition/design?
it helps deliver effective message by guiding the readers eyes

What is the principle of contrast?
occurs when related elements are different

How can contrast help a design?
draw the viewers eyes in and helps guide

What is wrong with having too much or too little contrast in a design?
too much= muy confusing too little= boring

What is the key to working with contrast?
make sure the differences are obvious

What are some common ways of creating contrast?
sharp differences in size shape color tone texture direction etc.