2. Introduction
Organization
Portia Munson.
Top: Pink Project: Table. 1995. 2' 6” x 8’ x 14'.
Center: Pink Project: Vitrines. 1995. 5' 8” x 2' 8” x 1' 1⁄2".
Bottom: Pink Project: Mound. 2006 – ongoing. approx. 6’ x 12'.
Organization, the act of bringing separate
elements together to form a unit or a structure,
is a foundational component of the design
process.
Organization implies order, or at least an
ordering, but this is not to say that design must
be orderly.
Is one version of the pictured Pink Project better
than the others?
3. Unity
Gestalt
Unity is achieved when
the whole is more
important than the parts.
A unified design may be
• A simple monolith or mass.
• Many forms or objects brought together to construct a coherent whole.
There are several ways of creating visual unity including:
• Unity of the figure
• Use of a three-dimensional grid
Gestalt is derived from
psychology, and suggests
that experiences are
greater than the sum of
their parts
• Proximity
• Unifying Pattern
4. Unity and Variety
Dynamic Partnership
Unification provides an overall and simplifying influence; the use of variation creates
nuanced events and pockets of interest.
• A grid can bring order to
elements that are
different.
• Different colors can add
variety to elements that
are otherwise the same.
• The same color can add
unity to elements that
are dissimilar.
• Visual continuation can
move your eye from one
different element to the
other, creating complex,
interwoven forms.
Rock Garden. Ryoanji Temple. Kyoto, Japan. late 15th century.
5. Repetition
Visual and Structural
Repetitive elements in three-dimensional
work often provide structural stability as well
as visual unity.
West Façade of Reims Cathedral. Reims, France. c. 1225–1290.Fish in Rope. Traditional Japanese package design.
6. Repetition
Modularity
A module is a standard unit.
Examples include
• Bricks
• Japanese tatami mats
• Toys like Legos and
Tinker Toys
• Architecture
Moshe Safdie. Habitat ’67.
Montreal, Canada. 1967.
7. Pattern
Ordered Repetition
Pattern is the ordered repetition of a visual element.
It can extend across a surface and never repeat.
However, repeat patterns utilize a modular unit, a
section of pattern that may be endlessly replicated.
In the third dimension, pattern can be
• Structural, as in some relief panels
• Decoration like mosaic tile on architecture
• Camouflage on plants and animals
Coiled Dumeril’s Boa.
Erwin Hauer. Continua Series Design 1. 1950. .
8. Rhythm
Fluid Form
Rhythm is similar to repetition, but instead of being associated with a mechanical cadence
of regular intervals, rhythm suggests a variation in tempo and more fluidity.
Rhythm can exist in relief and in the round.
Tony Cragg. Caught Dreaming. 2007. Bronze, 5' 21⁄5” x 9' 41⁄5” x 5' 1⁄5".
9. Rhythm
Fluid Form
In music another kind of rhythm,
staccato, is about sound that
changes abruptly.
Visually, this is often done with short,
angular elements.
Gerrit Rietveld. Armchair Red and Blue. 1918. Wood, paint.
10. Illusion of Motion
Origin and Implementation
Aerodynamic forms have an origin in those natural phenomena that can move very
quickly − sharks and birds, for example.
Characteristics of sleek forms designed to move without turbulence also allow these
objects to look fast, even while standing still.
The Bloodhound SSC (Super Sonic Car) is seen traveling at speed in this artist’s impression.
11. Illusion of Motion
Origin and Implementation
Sculptors often rely on illusions that are derived from
photography.
If your shutter speed is too slow when photographing a
moving object, you get a blurred image. This can
translate in sculpture to vague and stretched forms.
With a photographic
multiple exposure,
repetitive elements
can appear. Similar
illusions can be
translated in three
dimensions.
Tantric Hindu Goddess. Nepal; ca 17th
century. Gilt copper. 6.75 x 5.75 x 3.75
inches.
Tony Cragg. Bent of Mind. Bronze.
12. Balance
Actual and Implied
Balance, in the realm of three-dimensional
structure, has two faces:
• Actual balance is a phenomenon of
nature ruled by gravity, operating in real
space.
• Implied balance is a virtual or implied
condition involving one’s awareness of
actual gravity and balance, but
remaining a strictly visual experience
that has more to do with the
organizational and aesthetic factors of
visual weight.
Peter Fischli and David Weiss. The Apparition. 1984.
Color photograph, 18 1⁄2“ x 14 1⁄2".
13. Symmetry
Correspondence Across A Divide
Symmetry occurs
when there is formal
correspondence on
opposite sides of an
object’s central
dividing line—in
simpler terms, when
left and right sides
are mirror images.
Bilateral symmetry
• Is the symmetry of
many forms in our
environment: humans
and animals, classical
architecture,
automobiles.
• However, it is usually
only seen from one
perspective. When
seen from the side,
most of these objects
are no longer
symmetrical.
Pierce-Arrow. Silver Arrow. 1933. Design concept Philip Wright, body
engineer James Hughes. Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company.
14. Symmetry
Correspondence Across A Divide
Radial symmetry is based on symmetry around a central
axis. Trees, flowers, many circular patterns, and most
cylindrical configurations are radially symmetrical.
Spherical symmetry is the condition of having similar form
arranged regularly around a single point.
Ettore Sottsass. Transparent turquoise and yellow vase
Alioth. 1983. For Memphis, executed by Compagnia
Vetraria Muranese.
Knotweed pollen. Microscopic view.
15. Asymmetry
Dynamic Form
Every balanced configuration
that is not symmetrical is asymmetrical
Asymmetry is off center, out of
whack, confrontational and dynamic.
Daniel Libeskind. Extension to the Denver Art Museum, Frederic C. Hamilton Building.
16. Harmony
Unity, Balance and Order
The following are some traditional definitions of
harmony:
• Unity; its elements form an integrated whole.
• Balanced proportion.
• A pleasing or orderly arrangement of parts.
Harmony has a diminished, but not non-existent,
role in contemporary art and design, partly because
of the numerous competing ideas and principles in
modern and contemporary design culture that are
increasingly useful and compelling.
Kay Fisker. Decanter. Silver (also octagonal tobacco jar). 1926.
Manufactured by Anton Michelsen
17. Harmony
Unity, Balance and Order
Plato believed that objects in the world were flawed reflections of forms that were
true and ideal, and these perfect forms could exist only in the mental realm of
ideas. Idealism within art and design, strives for a perfection that seeks deep,
essential form.
Bronze statuette of a horse. Greek,
Late Hellenistic, late 2nd–1st century
BC. Bronze, 1' 3 13⁄16" high.
Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Dieter Rams and Gerd Alfred Muller,
designers. Braun record player. 1957.
18. Proximity
An Organizational Tool
The principle of proximity visually unites things that are
near one another and excludes those more distant.
Proximity can be a visual tool and/or a functional one.
King Taharga Offering a Libation. Egypt.
Central Park. New York, New York.
19. Emphasis
Contrast
Emphasis is similar to the pictorial idea of focal point. There are numerous strategies for
achieving emphasis, and often, these techniques are combined.
• Differences, or contrast,
of color, texture, shape,
and size
• Isolation of elements
• Relative placement of
elements
Ken Price. Sweet Paste. 1994. Fired and painted.
Clay. 1’ 6” high.
20. Proportion refers to the comparative relationship of size.
It can be expressed using a mathematical ratio and can
be observed by comparing:
• One form to another
• One part to the whole
Le Corbusier. Villa Savoye. Poissy, France.
Proportion
Ratio
21. Proportion
Ratio
Ideal Proportions and Convention
The notion of “correct” proportion is often
based on familiarity, norms, and
convention.
Ideals can relate to the human
body and accepted beliefs of
physical beauty, or to the design
of common objects.
Junya Nutanake. Lace ruff collar. Comme des Garçons.
22. Scale
Comparative Size
The word scale as used by artists,
designers, and architects refers to the
relative size of an object or a volume of
space
• In relationship to the viewer
• In relationship to other objects in the
vicinity
• In relationship to the object’s
environment in general.
Scale is all about context—perceiving
size depends on comparison.
Charles and Ray Eames. Images from the film Powers of Ten 1977.
Photographic reproduction.
23. Scale
The Miniature
Miniatures are frequently encountered in daily life — children’s
figurines, toys, and tabletop figurative sculpture are just some of
the objects often in a scale that is smaller than life-size.
.
Ron Mueck. The artist making final adjustments to Two Women.
2005. Mixed media, 2' 9 1⁄2" high.
When scale is carefully
employed, complex plays
of perceptual ambiguity
can be achieved.
In these images, there are
cues to scale – the artist at
left and the eye of a
needle at right.
Willard Wigan. Statue of Liberty.
24. Scale
Monumental
Monumental scale is often used for
political and propaganda purposes
because scale-increases of this
magnitude are humbling and
exhilarating.
However, it can also be used in a
playful manner, “making the familiar
strange”
Statue of Gomateshwara with worshipper. India.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen. Binocular entrance to
Chiat/Day Building designed by Frank O. Gehry. 1991. Steel frame.
Exterior: concrete and cement plaster painted with elastomeric
paint. Interior: gypsum plaster, 45’ x 44’ x 18'.
