Principles of design

If the elements of design are thrown together without plan, the result is confusion. The elements must be carefully organized into a unified design. This is done by following the principles known as proportion, rhythm, and balance.

Proportion. The principle of proportion is concerned with relative measure or amount. The effectiveness of a design depends upon the good proportion of its elements. There may be different sizes, shapes, and lengths of line. The relationship between these differences is proportion.

In design proportions are sometimes determined by structural needs and sometimes by visual appearances. Occasionally it is a combination of both. For example, the architect must determine the size and shape of windows for his building. He decides after considering how much light is needed inside the building as well as the appearance from outside. In a portrait painting, the artist must decide how large to make the figure and where to place it on his canvas. The potter decides how large to make the mouth of a bowl or of a vase. These are all problems in proportion.

Artists have learned much about good proportions by studying nature. Many centuries ago the Greeks discovered the formula of nature's proportions as it occurs in such living things as plant forms, shells, and the arrangement of seeds in a pod.

The plan of proportion appears frequently in nature. In a pineapple, for example, the scales are arranged to form two sets of spiraling curves running up the fruit. One of these curves is quite steep and its spiral is counterclockwise. The other, a more gradual spiral, runs clockwise. By counting the scales on the two sets of spirals we find that their numbers are in the same proportion as the summation series.

The general proportion of 3 to 5 is often used. There are many proportions which are pleasing to the eye. It is the artist's job to develop interesting proportions whether the object be a clock, a dinner fork, or a sewing machine.

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