Elements and Principles of Composition/Design

Elements: The basic tools used to create imagery
            • Line
            • Shape
            • Value
            • Texture
            • Color
            • Scale

Principles of Organization: How to organize the elements within a chosen space.

o Emphasis/Focal Point: There are ways to create visual weight in an image,
thus drawing one’s attention to one area or another, depending on the
amount of emphasis

• By Contrast of Visual Elements:

                    Line, shape, value, color, texture, scale
                    Organic vs. Geometric,
                    Abstracted or Representational

•     By Placement
•     By Isolation
•     Degree of Emphasis
•     Absence of Focal Point

o Unity/Harmony: Congruity of agreement of elements

• Repetition of elements (shape, color, etc)
• Proximity (Grouping)
• Continuation
• Linkage (Through overarching structure such as grids)
• With variety

o Balance: How the visual weight is distributed to activate the whole.

• Symmetrical (Same or similar elements on either side of an axis
• Asymmetrical (Dissimilar elements on either side of an axis

                Color
                Value
                Shape
                Texture and Pattern
                Position

• Crystallographic (overall equal visual weight)

• Radial (equal weight both vertically and horizontally

o Rhythm: Movement of eye across recurrent motifs, based on repetition
and strength of focal points

o Figure Ground relationships (using positive and negative space equally
important)

o Open/Closed Composition