Emphasis

Emphasis creates a focal point in a design; it is how we bring attention to what is most important. Emphasis is what catches the eye and makes the viewer stop and look at the image. Without emphasis, without getting the viewer to look at the image, communication cannot occur. Emphasis can be created by contrast. An element in contrast with something else is more easily seen and understood; something different attracts the eye. Any of the elements can be contrasted: line (a curve in the midst of straight lines , shape (a circle in a field of s!uares , color (one red dot on a background of grays and blacks , value (a light or dark area in the middle of its opposite and te"ture (rough vs. smooth . #ontrast can also be created by contrasting orientation in space (hori$ontal, vertical, diagonal , style (a geometric shape in an otherwise naturalistic image and si$e. An anomaly, or something that departs from the norm, will also stand out and grab our attention, for e"ample a person wearing a snowsuit on a tropical beach. Emphasis can also be created by placement. %mplied lines all directed toward the same place can create a focal point there. %solating an element from the others by its position in space will also create emphasis. An important thing to remember about emphasis is that if everything is emphasi$ed (all te"t is large and bold, all images are animated or flashing, everything is in bright colors then nothing will stand out, nothing will be emphasi$ed, nothing will grab the viewer&s attention.

'alance: A state of e!uilibrium, even distribution of weight, amount, color, etc. #olor balance: the distribution of color resulting in a feeling of fitness, satisfaction, and beauty. 'alance gets your attention. %t can determine the effectiveness of the picture, photograph, painting, drawing, etc. %n design we try and balance elements because it is more pleasing to the eye. (here are many ways to achieve this and one of the ways is; )ymmetry: %s a mirror image, one side is the mirror image of the other. )ymmetry can occur in any orientation a long as the image is the same on either side of the central a"is.

Balance

)ymmetrical balance is also called formal balance, because the results look formal, organi$ed and orderly. (here is a strong emphasis on the center a"is in symmetry since all of the information is coming from there, but there is more balance you have to worry about then *ust that. +ou also have top to bottom. %n which most images, drawings, pictures, etc. seem to be a bit more stable if the bottom is heavier than

the top. %f the top seems too heavy the composition can seem off. +ou also have left to right image balance as well as center to the outside to consider. Asymmetric: ,ack or absence of symmetry in arrangements. Also known as informal balance. (here is no simple form to asymmetrical balance so you must sense weather or not the image is balanced. -ne way of achieving balance is to place more or less interesting things randomly throughout the image. (here is balance because your interest in evenly distributed and they is unity.

(here are no rules in asymmetrical balance but that does not mean that anything goes. #areful ad*ustments in si$e, shape, color and placement of the element in the image are re!uired before balance can be achieved. .ear symmetry: %s based on symmetry but the two sides are not e"actly alike. (his will likely not throw off the balance of the picture, but the slight variation in balance gives more chance for variety which gives more chance for interest. 'e careful because if the sides get too off then you are back into asymmetrical.

.ear symmetry is more versatile then *ust plain symmetry because when used in graphic images with type it throws off the symmetry but balance is still achieved. %nvert symmetry: based on symmetry but one half is inverted.

With this you can get many interesting variations but it make for a hard and awkward balance 'i/a"ial symmetry: )ymmetry with to a"is, both vertical and hori$ontal.

(his will guarantee symmetry top to bottom as well as left to right. (op and bottom can be the same as the left and the right or it can be different. %t is possible to have more than two a"es.

A snowflake or a kaleidoscope has three. 0adial 'alance: An arrangement of usually similar parts in a regular pattern around a central a"is.

0adial balance can have numerous a"es because it comes out of the center of an image like a star and the weight is distributed evenly. (his creates a strong focus on the center of the image. All over balance: Also known as crystallographic balance this is created by repeating elements of e!ual weight everywhere.

(he emphasis is uniformed; there is no main focal point.

)pace in two/dimensional design is essentially flat; it has height and width, but no depth. (here are certain visual cues, however (based on the way we perceive ob*ects in the three/dimensional world , that can create the illusion of space in the mind of the viewer. 'y using these cues, artists and designers can create images that are interpreted as three/dimensional.

Space

)i$e is one of the easiest ways to create the illusion of depth in space. A larger image will appear closer than a smaller one because we know that the further away an ob*ect is, the smaller it appears.

-verlapping is another easy way to suggest depth in an image. When ob*ects overlap each

other, the viewer perceives the one that is covering the other to be in front and the one that is covered to be in back.

#ompositional location refers to where an element is positioned vertically in the image. (he bottom is seen as the foreground (closest to the viewer and the top is seen as the background (farthest from the viewer . Elements that are placed lower in a composition appear to be nearer and elements placed higher in the composition appear to be farther away.

Atmospheric perspective uses value, contrast and color to give the illusion of depth in space. Atmospheric perspective is based on the fact that the farther something is away from us, the more the atmospheric ha$e may obscure our view of it. 'y lightening the value, lowering the value contrast, softening the edges, decreasing detail and muting the color, you can mimic the effect of atmospheric ha$e and create the illusion of increasing distance. )hifting the colors toward blue also creates a sense of depth because cool colors recede and warm colors come forward.

,inear perspective is based on the visual phenomenon that as parallel lines (such as railroad tracks recede into space, they appear to converge at a distant point. ,inear perspective not only evokes a feeling of great depth, but it also creates a strong focal point at the place where the lines converge. 1sing these visual cues in combination with each other strengthens the illusion of depth.

Works Cited
)ites 1sed; 2aphne.palomar.edu3design3psymm.html .wrain.net34tersiisky3design3balance3html )itepoint.com3principals/of/good/design/ balance3http:33www.ursyn.com3-rchestra3pages3(oby.html 'ook 1sed; Elements of 2esign