The principles of visual art are the rules, tools and/or guidelines that artists use to organize the elements of art in an artwork. When successfully combined with the elements of art they aid in creating an aesthetically pleasing or interesting work of art.[1][2] Some principles of art that have been identified are movement, unity, harmony, variety, balance, rhythm, emphasis, contrast, proportion, and pattern. This list may vary, according to the art educator, but encompasses the generally accepted principles. Rhythm and pattern are often combined in art education. Show
Movement[]Movement shows actions, or alternatively, the path the viewer's eye follows throughout an artwork. Movement is caused by using elements under the rules of the principles in picture to give the feeling of motion and to guide the viewer's eyes throughout the artwork. In movement an art should flow, because the artist has the ability to control the viewer's eye. The artists control what the viewers see and how they see it, like a path leading across the page to the item the artist wants the viewer's attention focused on. Techniques such as scale and proportion can be used to create an effect of movement in a visual artwork. For instance, an element that is further into the background is smaller in scale and lighter in value. The same element repeated in different places within the same image can also demonstrate the passing of time or movement.[3] Unity[]Unity is the concept behind the artwork. An analogy would be the way in which a conductor directs a wide variety of instruments in an orchestra to produce symphony that is recognized as a single comprehensible piece.[3] Unity is how well different parts of an artwork build on each other. Often used in art classes. Harmony[]Harmony is achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the work, harmony gives an uncomplicated look to a piece of artwork or sculpture. Color harmony or color theory is also considered a principle through the application of the design element of color. Variety[]Variety is the quality or state of having different forms or types, notable use of contrast, emphasis, difference in size and color.[2] Balance[]File:Artistic balance.png(l-r) symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial balance Balance is arranging elements so that no one part of a work overpowers, or seems heavier than any other part. The three different kinds of balance are symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Symmetrical (or formal) balance is the most stable, in a visual sense. When both sides of an artwork on either side of the horizontal or vertical axis of the picture plane are exactly (or nearly exactly) the same the work is said to exhibit this type of balance. It is also a principle that deals with the visual weight of an artwork. Contrast[]Contrast is created by using elements that conflict with one another. Often, contrast is created using complementary colors or extremely light and dark values. Contrast creates interest in a piece and often draws the eye to certain areas. It is used to make a painting more visually interesting.[2] Proportion[]Proportion is a measurement of the size and quantity of elements within a composition. In ancient arts, proportions of forms were enlarged to show importance. This is why Egyptian gods and political figures appear so much larger than common people. The ancient Greeks found fame with their accurately-proportioned sculptures of the human form. Beginning with the Renaissance, artists recognized the connection between proportion and the illusion of 3-dimensional space. Pattern[]Pattern is showing consistency with colors or lines. Putting a red spiral at the bottom left and top right, for example, will cause the eye to move from one spiral, to the other, and everything in between. It is indicating movement by the repetition of elements. Rhythm can make an artwork seem active.[2] References[]
Gestalt is a German word that carries much importance, especially for us as designers. Let’s have a close look at its principles so that we can see how much information this little word encompasses! The central principle to the Gestalt theory was neatly summarized by the Gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka: "The whole is other than the sum of the parts." The human eye and brain perceive a unified shape in a different way to the way they perceive the individual parts of those shapes. This global whole is a separate entity that is not necessarily formed by the sum of its parts. When we fully understand Gestalt design principles, we can utilize them to create more interesting and engaging visual experiences for website and app users. You can take advantage of these laws to design more thoughtfully and effectively, knowing exactly how your work can impact your users. What Are Gestalt Principles? Author/Copyright holder: Impronta. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Gestalt principles or laws are rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements. These principles aim to show how complex scenes can be reduced to more simple shapes. They also aim to explain how the eyes perceive the shapes as a single, united form rather than the separate simpler elements involved. “Gestalt” refers to “shape” or “form” in German; the principles – originally developed by Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), an Austro-Hungarian-born psychologist. – were improved later by Wolfgang Köhler (1929), Kurt Koffka (1935), and Wolfgang Metzger (1936). Researchers have integrated all of these theories to show how people unconsciously connect and link design elements. This article covers one of the Gestalt Principles (the Law of Similarity). The rest of the principles will be covered in upcoming articles:
The Law of SimilarityThe human eye tends to perceive similar elements in a design as a complete picture, shape, or group, even if those elements are separated. The brain seems to craft a link between elements of a similar nature. Then, we perceive them in a relationship with each other, separating them from other elements in a design. Human eyes are good at filling in “gaps” or connecting “dots”. It happens naturally. Similarity is influenced by the shape, size and color of the elements. When you mix objects with high degrees of similarity to each other with a group of dissimilar objects, the brain then devotes time and energy to creating a link between them so that it can try to understand their relationship with each other. Let’s try a quick experiment to check this out. If you’ve got a pencil and paper handy, draw about ten, rough circles on a page (spreading them across the page), leaving enough space between them to fit shapes of a similar size. Now, anywhere in those gaps, draw five or six triangles. Don't worry about geometric perfection: it doesn't matter in this simple illustration. Then, put about three dots anywhere between these shapes. Look away and stand back for a moment. Now, return to your sketch. Do you notice anything? Your eye takes you right to the dots, doesn’t it? This is because the dots are points, while the shapes are made up of lines. Designing with Similarity in MindIn web and interactive design, the similarity law can be used to contribute to building connections between linked elements. This relationship may be either physical or conceptual. You can make the most of this natural human inclination by helping your user’s eye to discern parts of your design you want to accentuate. Using this linkage might improve the user experience as follows: LinksLinks and navigation systems are essential to allow users to view website content and navigate between different pages. While links are embedded inside the content, they must certainly be presented uniformly to allow users to identify linked text. Thus, text links should be differentiated by color and usually shape as well. No matter how you do it, the important thing is that links should be clearly identifiable as such. Make them stand out. Many users will typically consider a link to be any text that is blue and underlined. The use of the principle of similarity in menus and navigation helps users see the relationship between each group of navigation links. They will then perceive similar navigation items as being related or having a similar place in the site’s data hierarchy. ContentWe can also use color, font size and type, highlighting, etc. to distinguish between and mark the types of content before a user reads them. For example, quotes that appear in boxes, in a slightly bigger font, with an italic emphasis, are easily recognizable as such. The law of similarity carries our recognition of this standard from one website to another. Each site may use a variant on this theme, but, overall, the pattern is incredibly similar. Breaking the law of similarity can also help draw a user’s attention to a specific piece of content – such as a call to action. That’s right; we can make use of both sides of the line or border the law makes. The user’s eye is a remarkably easy tool to manipulate; you just need to figure out what parts of your design you want to bring out or tie together. HeadersWebsite headers play another essential role in organizing and building well-structured content for search engine crawling and for the reader. We normally place headers above content in a different font, color, size, etc. from the body of the content. They assist the reader in finding the relevant points in content and help control the overall flow of the work. They’re great milestones and using them wisely (which isn’t hard) will keep your users on your page. Remember that a user’s eye will activate the brain to work to interpret your design in a certain way. Nothing is more tiring than a solid block of text on a page, with no discernable features to draw the reader’s eye. If you’re near an old literary classic, why not open it and look at a spread of pages? For example, let’s try Victor Hugo’s immortal Les Misérables on for size. Flicking forward six pages finally brought me to a new chapter heading, which my eye instantly noticed and read. None of the other text had stood out for me before I saw that. The Take AwayGestalt psychology is a theory of the mind which has been applied to a number of different aspects of human thought, action and perception. In particular, Gestalt theorists and researchers attempt to understand visual perception in terms of the way the underlying processes are organized to help us make sense of the world. The organization of these cognitive processes is important to our understanding of how we interpret the constant stream of visual information entering our eyes into a cohesive, meaningful and usable representation of the world. Over the last twenty years, interaction designers and other professionals involved in the development of products for human users have adopted the work of Gestalt psychologists. Realizing the potential for applying Gestalt thinking helps us create (literally!) eye-catching works. Suddenly, we have new insights and ways of approaching problems and challenges. This is a gift – we can tailor our work according to the ”engineering” of the human eye and brain. Starting with the Law of Similarity, we find that we can make use of the following to draw a user’s attention and let his or her brain do the rest:
These three short articles will provide you with a first approach to these laws. However, if you want to cement in your own mind the many ways you can organize visual information and improve your designs for all users, we suggest that you take the course explained below! Where to Learn MoreInterested in delving into the Gestalt principles? Check our “Gestalt Psychology and Web Design: The Ultimate Guide” course. References:Hero Image: Author/Copyright holder: Eumedemito. Copyright terms and licence: Public Domain. Which principle is used to lead the viewer's eye to prepare them for the action that follows?Arcs: The principle that smooths animation and moves action in a realistic way.
What principle of art leads a viewer to sense action in a work?Movement is the principle of art used to create the look and feeling of action and to guide a viewer's eye throughout the work of art.
What kind of principle that shows path our eyes follow when we look at a work of art and it is generally very important to keep a viewer's eyes engaged in the work?Movement. Movement is the path our eyes follow when we look at a work of art, and it is generally very important to keep a viewer's eyes engaged in the work.
What principle will an artist use to control which part of a work a viewer's eye sees first?Emphasis. As a principle of art, emphasis refers to the area of an artwork that dominates attention or draws interest. It is often the place a viewer looks first.
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