Day 2: Principles of Design - Unity

When the design elements in a composition works together harmoniously to give the viewer a feel of relationship, it gives Unity to the design. Unity in a composition is important to good design.

Unity helps you to create a sense of order in the design and gives the individual elements a sense of completeness    that they are related to each other.

Day 2: Principles of Design - Dominance

Dominance relates to emphasis and visual weight in a composition. Eye is led to the most dominant element in the design. We can use different contrast methods to increase an element's dominance.

There are three levels of dominance:

1. Dominant
2. Sub-dominant
3. Subordinate

Day 2: Principles of Design - Contrast

Contrast occurs when two elements of a design are different. The greater the difference, greater the contrast. It is a way to emphasize what element is important in that design or directing users attention to a particular element. Contrast makes a design interesting thereby grabbing the attention of the viewer to the design.

Contrast can be achieved by using variety of:

• Shape
• Size
• Color Value
• Fonts/Type face
• Texture 

Day 2: Principles of Design - Balance

In the three dimensional space that we live in, we can find balance in almost all the forms we see. If a sculpture is not balanced, it would fall off. This applies to images created on a two-dimensional canvas as well. The artist need to create an illusion of balance in this case, instead of actual physical balance. This is referred to as Visual Balance.

Symmetrical Balance:

Symmetrical Balance is when the weight of the visual elements are distributed equally on both sides of the central axis.

Asymmetrical Balance:

Asymmetrical Balance is when both sides of the central axis are not the same, yet it will appear as the same weight on both sides by use of illusion.

Radial Balance:

In radial balance, all elements radiate outside from a center point in a circular fashion. All elements will lead your eye towards the center.