A. Creating and Presenting · Creating Art: The Creative Process, Design and Studio Techniques

Principles of Design: Balance, Emphasis, Contrast and Proportion

A2.1 C1.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify and create symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial balance.
I can create a focal point using contrast, isolation, convergence and placement.
I can use several kinds of contrast on purpose.
I can use realistic proportion and exaggerated scale to communicate an idea.

Words to know

balance
How visual weight is distributed in an art work so it feels stable (or deliberately unstable).

visual weight
How strongly a part of an image attracts the eye; dark, large, high-contrast, detailed or warm areas feel heavier.

symmetrical balance
Both halves of a design are the same or nearly the same (mirror image).

asymmetrical balance
Different elements on each side have equal visual weight, so the work feels balanced without being a mirror image.

radial balance
Elements are arranged around a central point, like spokes of a wheel.

emphasis
Making one part of an art work stand out; it creates a focal point.

focal point
The area the viewer's eye is drawn to first.

contrast
A strong difference between elements, such as light and dark, rough and smooth, large and small.

proportion
The size relationship of parts to each other and to the whole.

scale
The size of an object compared with what we expect, or with the viewer's body.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you studied visual weight, compositional triangles and focal points. In Grade 7 you used the rule of thirds. Now you will use these as part of a full set of principles of design, which are the ways artists organize the elements.

Why do some pictures feel "right"?

You have probably seen a photo where something feels off: everything is crammed in one corner, or there is nothing to look at first. Principles of design explain why. In this lesson: balance, emphasis, contrast and proportion. The next lesson covers rhythm, repetition and pattern, movement, unity and harmony, and variety.

Balance

Imagine the art work is sitting on a seesaw at its centre. Visual weight decides how it tips. Things that feel heavier:

Darker values and brighter or warmer colours.
Larger shapes, and shapes with more detail or texture.
Shapes farther from the centre (like a child sitting at the end of a seesaw).
Faces, people and text, which grab attention.

The three kinds of balance:

Symmetrical (formal): mirror image across a central line. Feels stable, dignified, official. Think of the Peace Tower centred on Parliament's Centre Block, or a logo.
Asymmetrical (informal): different things on each side, but equal weight. A large light shape can balance a small dark one. Feels relaxed, natural and more dynamic.
Radial: parts radiate from a centre. Snowflakes, mandalas, dream catchers, the rose windows of cathedrals.

Approximate symmetry is nearly symmetrical with small differences, like a human face.

Three kinds of balance. Symmetrical: both halves mirror each other. Asymmetrical: a large, pale shape on the left is balanced by a small, high-contrast shape on the right, because strong value contrast carries a lot of visual weight. Radial: parts repeat around a centre, like a snowflake or a flower.

Emphasis and the focal point

Emphasis makes the most important part stand out so the viewer knows where to look first. Ways to create it:

Contrast: one red apple among green ones; the only light value in a dark painting.
Isolation: one figure standing apart from a crowd.
Convergence: lines (roads, arms, glances) that lead to the focal point.
Placement: near (but usually not exactly at) the centre, or on a rule-of-thirds point where lines dividing the picture into thirds cross.
The unusual: something unexpected, like a person in a tuxedo at a hockey practice.
Detail: the most detailed area attracts the eye.

One strong focal point is usually better than several competing ones. You can have secondary points of interest (subordinate areas) that support it.

Four ways to create emphasis (a focal point): make one element contrast with the rest, isolate it, aim lines so they converge on it, or place it at a strong spot such as a rule-of-thirds intersection.

Contrast

Contrast is difference. It creates interest, emphasis and drama. Kinds of contrast:

Value: light against dark.
Colour: complements, warm against cool, bright against dull.
Size: big against small.
Shape: geometric against organic.
Texture: rough against smooth.
Line: thick against thin, straight against curved.

Too little contrast can make a work dull or hard to read; contrast everywhere means nothing stands out. Plan where the strongest contrast goes (usually the focal point).

Proportion and scale

Proportion is how sizes of parts relate. Realistic proportion helps viewers believe what they see: an adult head is roughly one-seventh to one-eighth of body height (you measured this in Grade 8). Scale compares an object's size with what we expect. Artists exaggerate scale to make a point: hierarchical scale makes important people larger (common in ancient Egyptian art and medieval art), and monumental scale (giant sculptures) makes viewers feel small. The artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen made giant outdoor sculptures of everyday objects such as a clothespin and a spoon.

Proportion compares sizes of parts. On the left the person and door are in realistic proportion. On the right a mitten is shown at an exaggerated scale, which makes the viewer stop and ask why: maybe the art work is about how big winter feels.

Worked example

Let's analyse balance and emphasis in a design

A student's poster for a school food drive: on the left, a large pale-blue shopping bag fills half the page. On the right, near the upper third, is a small, bright red can of soup with the words "Give one can" beside it in black. The rest of the right side is white.

Balance: the large bag on the left has size, but it is pale. The small red can on the right is dark-ish, bright, warm and next to text. The two sides feel equal in weight even though they are different: asymmetrical balance.
Focal point: the red can. It is the only warm, bright colour (colour contrast), it is surrounded by white (isolation), and it sits on a rule-of-thirds point (placement).
Contrast: large pale bag versus small bright can (size and colour contrast); text in black against white (value contrast).
Proportion: the can is drawn smaller than the bag, as in real life, so the image reads clearly.
Effect: the viewer's eye goes to the can and the words "Give one can": exactly the message. The design is simple and calm but still has energy.

Asymmetrical balance, with the red can as a strong focal point created through colour contrast, isolation and rule-of-thirds placement, delivers the message clearly.

Test your balance

Turn your art work upside down or look at it in a mirror. Fresh eyes notice when one side is too heavy. Squint to see the biggest, darkest shapes, which carry most of the weight.

Just for fun

Funny but true: tightrope walkers often carry a long pole. It helps them stay balanced. Your composition needs the visual version of that pole.

Hands-on activity

Principles studio: one object, four compositions

You need: paper, pencil, black marker, coloured pencils or markers, scissors, a glue stick, an old magazine or flyers.

Divide a page into four boxes (about 9 cm × 12 cm each).
Choose one simple object (a mug, a skate, a pine cone). Draw it in each box:

Box 1: symmetrical balance.
Box 2: asymmetrical balance (add a second, different element to balance it).
Box 3: radial balance (repeat the object around a centre).
Box 4: a strong focal point using at least two emphasis strategies.

Collage contrast: cut 10 shapes from magazines. Arrange and glue them so one shape is the clear focal point because of contrast. Label the kind of contrast.
Scale surprise: draw a small, everyday object at a huge scale next to something normally big (a paper clip next to a CN Tower, a snowflake bigger than a car). Write one sentence about what the scale change makes a viewer think.

Safety: use scissors carefully and cut away from your body.

Your turn

Name the three main kinds of balance and give an everyday example of each.

Which feels heavier: a small black circle or a small pale-yellow circle of the same size? Why?

List four ways to create a focal point.

What is the difference between proportion and scale?

Why can too much contrast be a problem?

A painting shows a king three times larger than the people around him. What is this called and why might the artist do it?

What kind of balance does a dream catcher or a mandala usually have?

More practice: warm-up

What is a focal point?

Mirror-image balance is called...

Name two kinds of contrast.

Which feels more relaxed and natural: symmetrical or asymmetrical balance?

What is visual weight?

More practice: on your own

Kai places his main character exactly in the centre of a symmetrical background. The work feels stiff. Suggest a change and explain.

Explain how a small object far from the centre can balance a large object near the centre.

A sunset photo has the horizon exactly across the middle and no clear focal point. Give two improvements.

How could you use contrast of texture in a collage about winter?

Why might a government building use symmetrical balance?

Challenge

Describe an art work that uses radial balance but still has a clear focal point. How does it work?

Explain how one art work could use contrast to create both emphasis and mood.

Design (in words) a poster about saving water that uses exaggerated scale and asymmetrical balance. Where is the focal point and how do you create it?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which arrangement shows asymmetrical balance?

Which has the most visual weight on a white page?

Lines leading the eye toward one spot create emphasis through...

Making an important person much larger than others in an art work is called...

Which is an example of radial balance?

Why should most compositions have one strong focal point?

For parents and teachers

These principles are easiest to learn by looking. Flip through magazines, advertisements, album covers or picture books with your teen and ask: "Where does your eye go first? Why? Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical?" Common difficulties: thinking asymmetrical means unbalanced (it does not: it means balanced by different elements), and putting the focal point dead centre every time. Supervise scissors use for the collage.