Monday, September 10, 2012

Principles of Design

Balance: is the visual weight of elements within a space. Something with good balance has the same weight on all sides.

Symmetrical: identical on both sides. These images are symmetrical because they have the same colors, patterns, shape, structure, or furniture on either side. The images of the church, parlor room, and sorority house have symmetry to make a more formal structure. The other three images are symmetrical to look more comfortable and stylish. We understand the feel of these three images because they are emphasizing certain colors and patterns.

Asymmetrical: not the same on both sides but still balanced. Creates a more casual feel. This is an image of a room in my sorority house where we always watch movies. There is a desk and TV on one side and a couch on the other. Even though both sides are different, the room is still balanced.

The below images are of arrangements of pictures. Although the pictures are not lined up perfectly with one another, the arrangements are still balanced.

The dresser below has an asymmetrical design because of the objects on top of it. Although they do not make a symmetrical picture, the books and lamp balance each other out. The book case in the parlor room is also asymmetrical because of the objects inside.

Radial: elements arranged around a center point. All of these objects has a center structure with other elements protruding from it. Painted lines on the door knob and around the light at the Georgia Theatre create radial symmetry.

Emphasis: has a focal point or element that immediately catches the viewer's eye. In these images, emphasis is created through light (at the end of a garden path and a light fixture on a wall), color pops, points, and a sorority sign against a white house.

Repetition/Rhythm: repeated elements in a design. Creates unity and continuity. The lines on the side of the building creates rhythm within the structure. Repeating stones makes a snaking, interesting pattern in the mulch. The four pictures of doors are examples of repetition because even though they are not the same images, they enforce a similar concept. The shutter has repeating lines and is hanging similar objects. The square pictures mixed with the square pillows and light fixture creates repeating shapes. Hallways in a library are repetitious both because of the books and the multiple book cases. The lines outside of the Holiday Inn entrance are an example of structural repetition.

Movement: the path taken as your eye moves through a space. Can be created by lines, shapes, colors, and forms. Hanging lights move the eye downward and upward in a space. Pictures zig-zagging on the wall move the eye from image to image. Zig-zagging lines on fabrics create movement. Vases with flowers in them move the eye upward.

Proportion/Scale: Relationships of parts to the whole. The images below are examples of both good and bad proportions. Even though the gigantic armoire is disproportional to the size of the room, the TV and objects on either side are proportional to the armoire. The TV on top of the desk is too big for the desk in such a small area. The lamp on the table is the perfect size to fill out the table. The image of a tiny lamp next to a much taller one looks awkward when looking head on at the space. In the image of Stone Henge that I took in London, you can see how huge the stones are compared to the scale of the two humans in the picture.

Unity/Harmony: arrangement between all parts of a space that help it function together. Done through similar finishes, fabrics, colors, shapes, and textures. The sorority house is unified because all of the windows look the same and it uses the same three colors throughout. Although the blue and grey room has different patterns on each bed, the color scheme throughout the room makes it unified. The room with the hemp curtains is unified because both beds have the same covers and the pillows are the same color as the curtains and the decorations on them. Yellow and red are Chi Omega colors, and my room has many elements that are yellow and red to make it a unified space. When curtain colors match the decorations around them, it makes a space more unified. The plates in the parlor room are all the same style, unifying that space and making it formal, but different.

Variety: uses several elements of design to hold the viewer's attention. It guides the eye through the space. The examples of houses I have included all use different materials such as wood, brick, stucco, stone, and glass to give the structure and design variety. Inside of Yoforia, they use a grass material, wood, plastic, and a matte wall to create an interesting visual while  you eat ice cream. Variety of objects used to decorate a room can create a more interesting and exciting scene, but can sometimes look overwhelming.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Space and Texture

Space: an area defined by elements being around one another. This can be obvious, like a space enclosed by walls, or implied, like an empty space between two things or lines showing the outline of a space. Space can be created through artwork or in reality using walls, ceilings, and floors.

Actual: A courtyard is an enclosed space for people to do various activities outside. Cabinets are used as storage spaces for people to stow away various item or to put things on display. They are a space used for organization.

Implied: An archway is an example of an implied space because it is implied that people are to walk through it. Balconies and awnings are spaces where people can sit or stand, or be shielded from sunlight or rain. A parking space is a space designated for cars, and sometimes a specific person. A man-made path is an implied space because so many people have walked on it so it is recognizable as a space to walk.

Texture: the surface quality of an item that can be seen or felt. Can be tactile (you can touch it) or visual (even if you can't touch it, it looks like you would be able to feel it). Implied textures strive to mimic the feel of certain textures.

Real: Bricks, wicker, shag, wood, and glass all have specific textures. Glass is also a reflective texture. It makes a city scene more beautiful in my opinion if the sunset is able to reflect off of the buildings at night.

Implied: Textures mimicked in drawings, fabrics, and advertisements are all implied textures. The pattern on ice machines mimics that of actual ice, making you want that cold, smooth feeling. Animal and water prints are found on a lot of clothing items. I this self portrait I drew, we were to decide how we wanted the background scenery to look. I chose to mimic stone and wood, implying texture. I also added texture to my hair and face using shading.




Monday, September 3, 2012

Plane and Form

Planes: flat surfaces extending in length and width. Planes are often shallow in depth and can be made of many different materials, and can be opaque, translucent, textured, or smooth. These are examples of planes because they are flat surfaces made of various materials that make up structures. Although windows are see-through and mirrors reflect, they are still great examples of planes.

Geometric Forms: have length, width, depth, weight and solidity. Examples of these are circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, etc. These geometric forms are all readily recognized as certain shapes: the lamp is a sphere, while the pillars, smoke stacks, and candle are all cylinders.

Natural Forms: are found in nature as they were originally made. Examples of natural forms are trees, bushes, and rocks because nature made all three of them, they were not man-made. Although the shape may have been altered by a human, the actual form of a shrub or rock is not man-made. The rocks found in the ocean are shaped by another form of nature: water.

Abstract Forms: demonstrate qualities of an actual form but has been altered in some way. Great examples of this are replicas of animal or plant forms made out of different materials. The artists of these pieces are trying to render the presence of a certain thing, but do so using an interesting material. The idea came from the artists' mind, not from its natural existence. All of these examples are recognizable as owls, flowers, a tree branch and a giraffe; however, they are not in their natural form.

Dynamic Form: demonstrate movement, energy and imply activity. One of my examples is a friend's room that doesn't really have much order to it. Both of the roommates have their own style and objects. Some rooms in my sorority house are perfectly proportional on each side with matching bed spreads, picture formations and object organization. As you can see, they did not go for this look by adding a mirror to only one side of the room, having different picture placement and different bed spreads. My other example is a waterfall because it implies motion and energy.

Static Form: appear to be in a still and resting position. They offer a sense of calm and power because of their permanence. They are very specifically laid out to avoid confusion, look more formal, or be more practical. The Parlor Room is the most formal room in my sorority house and has a symmetrical lay out with matching furniture on each side. I think this achieves the formal feel it was designed for. Our dining room is also laid out statically in order to make it more functional so everyone has a place to sit. If the furniture was to be moved around it wouldn't give us the most amount of space possible, making it less comfortable to eat in there.

Non-Objective Form: usually doesn't represent anything recognizable until we get the title of the structure, and then maybe we can recognize something more abstract. I chose a light structure that my friend has hanging in her room because I'm not sure what it was made to look like. I also chose some earrings that I have that don't represent any form in particular. I think these structures were designed for people to take an interest in their meaning and form.