These principles are fundamental to the evaluation of the various elements of the work; they represent how the artist uses the elements of art to create his works and share his vision. Design principles in the art include elements that are more difficult to define, but necessary to create a pleasant composition. Balance is the way in which the elements within a composition are arranged symmetrically, asymmetrically or radially to create the impression of equality in weight or importance. This is an easy question: how big or small is something? Scale affects how you balance something.

The phrase “the bigger, the better” is not always the case in design. Sometimes small items can attract attention just as effectively as something big. It's the message you're trying to convey with design. Have you ever seen anything that makes your eyes hurt? A restaurant menu with a red background but a yellow type? Or an ad in a newspaper that can barely be read because the dark gray guy was printed in black ink? This is due to the lack of contrast, or the arrangement of the opposing elements.

Red and yellow are not far enough from each other on the color wheel to be distinguishable enough to the naked eye, so the colors conflict with each other and the result is literally a headache. The pattern is the repetition of specific visual elements, such as a single unit or multitude of shapes. Patterns can be used to create balance, organize surfaces consistently, or create contrast. An example of this is the tiles in the department store.

While they serve as decoration, they serve another purpose: to guide the customer throughout the store. Movement is the way the eye moves along the composition, drawing attention from one aspect to another. This can be achieved through the use of repeating or alternating elements or patterns. The frequency with which something repeats itself and the intensity of its contrast creates rhythm. What happens when you put it all together? How do all these elements work together? The way in which the elements are arranged so that the image looks as a whole and, in general, creates a visually compelling composition is unity.

Do you want to share a business opportunity? As in literature, visual contrast occurs when the different elements of a piece are noticeably different from each other. When contrasting elements are juxtaposed or placed side by side, it catches the eye of the viewer. One of the most common ways artists do this is by using contrasting colors close to each other. These are colors that appear on opposite sides of the color wheel from each other. Take a look at Leonardo da Vinci's work, Ginevra de' Benci, pictured above.

Observe the contrast of the woman's skin against the dark background of the trees. Da Vinci uses contrast to draw attention to what he considers to be the most important part of the piece: the woman's face. It is important to note that emphasis is closely linked to other design principles. For example, the Jurassic Park poster uses contrast and space to emphasize. Other posters, like this one from Gravity, use movement, space and contrast to do the same.

The pattern occurs when an object, image, or symbol is repeated uniformly throughout a visual composition. Anything can be turned into a pattern, although some classic examples include intersecting lines, shapes, and spirals. Patterns can do many things for a design. You can set the tone of the piece, for example, if the background features a 70s mod pattern or a repeated image, such as an animal.

A pattern can also lay the foundation for other design elements, such as contrast or emphasis. In the image above, you can see how star pattern combines with contrast to reveal a patriotic star, which becomes emphasis of ad. In design, repetition is used to unify and strengthen a design. Unlike a pattern, in which a thing is repeated consistently throughout a design, repetition is repeated use of certain elements such as color, shape or font. When repetition is used correctly it creates consistency in design. As brand Target stores are famous for their use of repetition.

They use color repetition help viewers immediately associate an ad with their store. A good example this ad above which uses repetition colors and shapes (the concentric circles Target logo) reiterate its brand. Positive space area occupied by subject composition. If you return portrait da Vinci above you will see woman occupies much positive space portrait. Positive and negative space work together create emphasis and visual appeal. Take look previous piece graphic designer Jonathan Mak which he did tribute Steve Jobs after his death. Play with negative space Apple logo turning normal bite mark into profile late company founder. Asymmetric equilibrium occurs when objects and elements not evenly distributed throughout composition but way they placed creates sense balance anyway. Often asymmetrical balance helps create sense movement attracts eye from one element another. Therefore one best ways see if composition works see it from distance. This especially true if your composition intended be seen from distance such painting large advertisement. Contrast refers different elements design especially adjacent elements. These differences make several elements stand out. Contrast also very important aspect when creating accessible designs. Insufficient contrast make content particular text very difficult read especially visually impaired.