Design Principles

            Unity is the appearance or condition of oneness. In art, unity describes the feeling that all the elements of the artwork belong together to make a coherent and harmonious whole. In Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” his use of lines and cool colors creates a sense of unity within his work. He uses the colors black, blue and yellow throughout his painting. He also uses lines to show the stars in the sky.

            Asymmetrical balance is when the left and the right halves of an artwork are not the same, but various elements are instead balanced according to their visual weights of colors and forms. In Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam,” there is asymmetrical balance in the art because while Adam is simply lying on a green hill, God is seemingly floating in space surrounded by many figures and a red cloak. The contrast in colors surrounding the two figures of Adam and God are what balance the artwork asymmetrically.

            Scale is the size relation of one thing to another. Many artists often depict “God” or “Gods” and political figures (kings, queens, etc.) as the larger figure in their work because they’re more important than the smaller common people. In this Ancient Egyptian relief sculpture, it shows the pharaoh Narmer accompanied by men who are carrying items that symbolize their local gods. The artist portrayed Narmer as the largest figure in the artwork because he is the pharaoh and therefore the most important person, while the other men in the artwork are smaller because they are more insignificant. This example of scale is called hierarchical proportion.