Student work from Design I Tarrant County College Northwest Fort Worth, TX

1. 2E: Balance and Emphasis
Student Examples

2. Balance
• Each element has “weight”
• Feeling of balance is achieved through
symmetry, asymmetry to create impression of
equality in weight or importance
• Symmetry = calm, attractive
• Asymmetry = not mirrored, but equally
weighted through contrast (light vs dark, thick
vs thin, patterned vs blank, negative vs
positive)
• Imbalance = not balanced, something is
unsettling and awkward

3. Emphasis
• What is the most important element in your
composition?
• How do you create emphasis for this one element?
• Emphasis by Placement = An object placed in the
center will often be perceived as a focal point. If all
eyes in the painting look at one object, or if an object is
placed at the center of the lines of perspective, that
object will be perceived as the focus of the work.
• Emphasis by Contrast = break visual hierarchy using
different shape, pattern, line weight, fill)
• Emphasis by Isolation = What does it mean to be
isolated? The distance from the “group” or the “norm”
calls attention to yourself.

4. Symmetry

5. Emphasis by Placement

6. Imbalance

7. Emphasis by Placement

8. Symmetry

9. Symmetry

10. Symmetry or Asymmetry

11. Asymmetry

12. Emphasis by Isolation

13. Imbalance

14. Emphasis by Placement

15. Symmetry

16. Emphasis by Isolation

17. Emphasis by Placement

18. Emphasis by Contrast

19. Asymmetry

20. Symmetry

21. Imbalance

22. Symmetrical

23. Emphasis by Isolation and
Emphasis by Contrast

24. Imbalance

25. Emphasis by Isolation and
Emphasis by Contrast

26. Asymmetry

27. Symmetry

28. Symmetry (almost)

29. Symmetry

30. Emphasis by Placement needs some
refinement

31. Emphasis by Placement needs some
refinement