Unity and Emphasis

Unity

Visual Perception- The designer’s job in creating a visual unity is made easier by the fact that the viewer is actually looking for some sort of organization, something to relate the various elements. The viewer does not want to see confusion or unrelated chaos.

Gestalt- A unified configuration or pattern of visual elements whose properties cannot be derived from a simple summation of its parts.

In this image the Gorilla and the Lion unify the tree.

Ways to achieve unity 

• Proximity- The degree of closeness in the placement of elements.

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  By bringing these 5 images together you unify them into one image

  Continuation- A line or edge that continues from one form to another, allowing the eye to move smoothly through a composition.

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  One object leads to the next and the alignments are perfect

  Grid- A network of horizontal and vertical intersecting lines that divide spaces and create a framework of areas.

• 

  Example of Column Grid used in this magazine post

  Unity with Variety- The degree of agreement existing among the elements in a design. The word design implies that the various components of a visual image are organized into a cohesive composition. A design must have visual unity.

• 

  In this image there are different fruits but they are all unified together perfect

  Repetition and Varied Repetition- using the same image over and over again throughout the same image.

 

In this image circles and squares are using multiple times to create an interesting work of art.

Figurative and abstract- Unity is not simply a property of related organic shapes or of related geometric elements. An apprehension of unity is a simple and immediate sense of connections resonating throughout a composition. The elements that build that unity may be simple as well, or they may be subtle and more complex.

The eyes and lips are figurative but the way they are composed into the art work with the other elements make the whole art piece kind of abstract

Emphasis & Focal Point

Ways to achieve emphasis

• Contrast- Very often in art the pictorial emphasis is clear, and in simple compositions (such as a portrait) the focal point is obvious. But the more complicated the pattern, the more necessary or helpful a focal point may become in organizing the design.

• 

  Blue and Orange are opposite on the color wheel. They also represent cool and warm.

  Isolation- But simply by being set off by itself, it grabs our attention. Isolating from everything. Focal point off to the side.

In this image, the birds are all together and the boy is alone by himself.

• Placement- It does not require much in the way of proof to say that putting something at the center of a composition creates emphasis. Often criticized for being boring and trite.

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  The placement of this tree is not very centered and is also shadowed which makes it stand out.

  One element- A specific theme may at times call for a dominant, even visually overwhelming focal point. The use of a strong visual emphasis on one element is not unusual. Gets the viewer eyes in seconds.

In this image the one dominated element is the woman's blue eye.

Emphasizing whole over parts- Similar shapes and textures are repeated throughout the painting. These shapes and textures form loose rows and columns and a kind of grid. The artist creates an ambiguous visual environment that is puzzling. Dark and light areas repeat over the surface in an even distribution, and no one area stands out. The painting has no real starting point or visual climax.

Although this image is broken down in color by areas in Africa, it is still emphasizing Africa as a whole.