Homework: Design Basics / Line Qualities

Visual Unity:

·         Visual unity indicates agreement and harmony.  For it to occur, the image or design in its entirety must be predominant over the individual elements of the piece.  If only a combination of separate parts is seen, then visual unity does not exist.  Often times, the varied use of thin, thick, arrangement, and darkness augment the interest of a piece and intensify its sense of unity.  To find this visual harmony, viewers usually first look towards a piece’s use of positive or negative space.

Gestalt:

·         Gestalt is a well-known theory of visual psychology.  It describes a harmonious pattern or configuration of the visual elements whose effects cannot be acquired from a basic summation of its components.

Harmony:

·         Harmony is the appealing combination of separate parts that make up a whole composition.  When elements in a design are harmonious, they posses a congruence and look as if they belong together.  These elements will not achieve unity if there is disconnect between them.

6 Ways To Achieve Visual Unity:

Proximity: Proximity is the simplest way to gain a sense of unity.  It is the degree of closeness in the position of the elements.  The placement of separate elements close together allows them to look as though they belong together.  This is one way to aid the viewer’s eye move smoothly from one item to the next.

Continuity: Connection is the visual connection between two or more separate designs.  It is most often a planned arrangement.  A way to achieve unity and continuity is through the application of a grid.
Repetition: A viewer sees repetition when he or she begins to look past the subject matter of a particular work of art or design.  It is employing the use of the same visual element over again within a composition.  Shape, texture, angle, direction, and color can all be used to create repetition.

Emphasis: To give emphasis to something is to give said thing a distinct prominence or importance.  Often the focal point of work of art or design is where the majority of emphasis is placed.  On the other hand, attention can be placed upon a piece as a whole through the absence of a focal point.  Emphasis can be achieved through contrast, isolation, and placement. 

Chaos and control: Chaos and control are two extremes, which can lack visual unity, making a design or an image unreadable or boring.

The grid: The grid is a framework or a skeleton that helps to divide the page.  By giving the page a format, space division is possible.  This type of structured grid is used frequently on the Internet and in creating corporate identities.  Also, the use the grid does not necessarily lead to a dull regularity in page design.