Art and Design Principles

Vocabulary flashcards covering core design principles in art, including balance, symmetry, contrast, emphasis, proportion, and harmony.

Design principles

The basic units that make up a painting, drawing, and design.

Balance

The ways in which the art elements (lines, shapes, colours, and textures) are arranged in an artwork.

Balanced

A visual state where the weight is shared equally on each side of the picture.

Symmetrical

A quality of an arrangement where both sides are the same.

Asymmetrical

A quality of an arrangement where each side is different but equal.

Radial

Coming out from a central point.

Contrast

The arrangement of opposite elements placed next to each other to create visual interest, excitement, and drama, or to make something easier to see.

Emphasis

When an artist makes part of an artwork stand out in order to draw the viewer's eye there first.

Focal point

The centre or point of interest in an artwork where the viewer's eye goes first.

Proportion

The size or position of an object in relation to or compared to another.

Foreground

The area located in the front of a picture.

Middle ground

The area located in the centre of a picture.

Background

The area located at the back of a picture.

Unity / harmony

A sense created when the different parts of an artwork feel as though they fit and work together.