This document discusses principles of graphic design and visual balance. It covers various terms related to design such as intellectual unity, visual unity, symmetry, asymmetry, and kinesthetic projection. The goals of the document are to understand how design elements work together through visual language and balance, and to examine how type and image placement can direct the eye and achieve unity. It then discusses various techniques for achieving balance, including symmetrical and asymmetrical balance, contrast, weight, location, size, texture, isolation, subject matter, value, shape, structure and color.

1. TOWARD
A
DYNAMIC
BALANCE
AA 210 Graphic Design 1
September 24, 2011

2. Da Vinci studied proportions and referenced it to
man, the perfect measure for all things

3. Terms to remember
Intellectual Unity
Visual Unity
Kinesthetic Projection
Symmetry
Asymmetry
Radial Symmetry
Visual Weight
Visual Direction
Visual Texture

4. Goals
Understand how the elements on a page ( of type and image, of
photography and illustration ) work together by knowledgeably using the
visual language of balance
Examine how type and image are placed in a composition intentionally to
direct the eye and achieve visual unity

5. VISUAL AND
INTELLECTUAL UNITY
Intellectual unity – is
idea generated and
word dominated

6. VISUAL AND
INTELLECTUAL UNITY
Visual unity- created by
the placement of design
elements perceptible to
the eye

7. DESIGN AS
ABSTRACTION
Abstract art is about
color, value, shape,
texture and direction
although often
incorporating
recognizable imagery

8. DESIGN AS
ABSTRACTION

9. DESIGN AS
ABSTRACTION
INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE WITH STRONG
A good graphic designer must be a POSTER FOR KUNSTGEWERBEMUSEUM, ZURICH, 1960 PURE DESIGN SHAPES REMINISCENT OF MONDRIAN’S
good abstract artist using both SURFACE DIVISION AND STRONG HORIZONTAL/
VERTICAL ORIENTATION
pictorial and non objective elements

10. DESIGN AS
ABSTRACTION
Graphic design is
essentially an abstract art
which combines elements
into a formal 2D structure
a work should be
balanced and visually
compelling in its own
right as well as
supportive of an idea
Gestalt and semiotics

11. DESIGN AS
ABSTRACTION

13. WORKING TOGETHER
Bauhaus: the form of a design matches
its function
“ The words on a printed page are meant to be
looked at not listened to.” -El Lissitzky, Constructivist

14. VISUAL DYNAMICS
Kinesthetic projection – sensory experience stimulated
by bodily movements and tensions whether we deal
with pictures of people or the abstract shapes of type
design

15. VISUAL
DYNAMICS

16. VISUAL DYNAMICS
People project emotional as well as physical
experience onto the page
Visual form stirs up memories and expectations

17. VISUAL DYNAMICS
Loose strokes that allow the
process of construction to
show through also arouse
dynamic tension
Dynamic tension is not
contained in the paper itself,
or in the graphite, ink or
computers. It is created by
our interaction with the
image

18. TOP TO BOTTOM
Things in the world rest on the
ground than in the sky

19. TOP TO BOTTOM
the bottom
measurement is slightly
greater than the top,
allowing for an optical
center that is slightly
different from the
mathematical center

20. VERTICAL AND
HORIZONTAL
Diagonal lines are
dynamic because they
seem to be in a state of
flux, poised for
movement toward the
more stable horizontal
or vertical

21. VERTICAL AND
HORIZONTAL
Theo van Doesburg
Deviated from the
horizontals and
verticals stating that
the modern human
spirit felt a need to
express a sharp
contrast to the right
angles found in
architecture and
landscape
Tension can create

22. LEFT TO RIGHT
Pictorial movement
from left to right
seems to require
less effort than
movement in the
opposite direction

23. LEFT TO RIGHT

24. LEFT TO RIGHT
Successful communication requires balance, the
directing and conducting of visual tensions.

25. BALANCE
Lack of balance in design will irritate viewers and impair the
communication
In isomorphic terms, we identify our physical structure with the
physical layout of the page
When the dynamic tension between elements is balanced, we
are most likely to communicate our intended message,
otherwise the eye is confused
Balance is achieved by two forces of equal strength that pull in
opposite directions whose strengths offset one another. It is
not a state of rest but a state of equal tension
An interplay between tension heightening and tension reducing
visual devices seem to satisfy us and match our kinesthetic
and emotional experience

26. TYPES OF BALANCE
SYMMETRICAL- identical shapes are repeated
from left to right in mirrored positions on either
side of a central vertical axis; quiet sense of order,
useful whenever stability and a sense of tradition
are important, uses contrast of value, texture and
shape to relieve boredom and introduce variety
It can also be achieved even with slight
differences in shape, color and value as long as
the overall balance of the same is referenced to
a singular axis

27. SYMMETRICAL

28. SYMMETRICAL

29. ASYMMETRICAL - evokes a greater sense of movement and
change, of possible instability and relative weights
CONTRAST
achieved through contrast to create equal visual weight
among the elements
to be effective, contrast must be definitive
most successful designs rely on a carefully juggled balance
of similarities and contrasts
WEIGHT
visual weight is the strength or dominance of the visual
objects
visual direction is the way the eye is drawn between
elements over the flat surface
balance is determined by the natura weight of an element
and by the directional forces the composition

30. LOCATION- the center of a composition will
support more weight than the edges

31. SPATIAL DEPTH- vistas
that lead the eye into
the page have great
visual strength

32. SIZE- the contrast between large and small should be sharp
and definite without overpowering the smaller elements so
they can contribute to the composition; unexpected size
results in a visual double take and makes the design
interesting

34. TEXTURE – a small
highly textured area
will contrast with and
balance a larger area
of simple texture.
Contrast of texture is
useful with text type

35. ISOLATION- a shape that appears isolated from its
surroundings will draw attention to itself more
quickly and have greater visual weight than one
surrounded by other shapes

36. SUBJECT MATTER-the natural interest of subject matter will draw the the viewers
eye and increase visual weight
it can also create directional movement as we move our eyes between elements
or follow the eye direction of a figure

37. VALUE- areas of high contrast have strong visual
weight ; the high contrast of texture and size and the
cropping of images, can create an extremely well
balanced and dynamic layout

38. SHAPE- the shape of
objects generates a
directional pull along
the main structural
lines
complicated contours
have greater visual
weight than simple
ones

39. STRUCTURE- type design
refers to the contrasting
characteristic of type families

40. COLOR - the brighter and more intense the
color, the heavier it will be visually
in graphic design, additional color costs
money
in monotonic design, color need not be black

41. END...à{tÇ~ çÉâ4