design dynamics

Never make any two intervals the same.
Why?

Simply put, we crave variety and abhor monotony. We humans get bored pretty quickly. We get tired of the same old thing in a very short time, be it what we eat, hear, feel or see. Think how tiresome eating the same foods at every meal would be. It is in our nature to seek change, to introduce variety in our lives. Good composition is based on this fact of human nature. Just as we find an unchanging diet unappetizing, we find unchanging pictorial elements uninteresting.

In this chapter, we will explore why the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION works and why it is the foundation for the remaining chapters in this book.

design a preference test

Let’s start our exploration of design and composition with a look at how we respond to certain visual stimuli. Complete the following exercise. It is in no way scientific, but no less revealing. It is not a test of your aesthetic sense, your personality or your worth as a human being. It’s just a good way to start thinking about how we respond to pictures.

Below are five pairs of designs. Look at each pair and mark which one either attracts your attention or appears more dynamic and interesting. Go with your first impulse. Pick the one you like more or think is better for whatever reason. You can’t make a wrong choice. Do it now before reading on.

Which designs do you find more interesting?

In this exercise, each pair has one design that has more complexity created by differing intervals of dimension, spacing, distance or some other characteristic. The other design has less varied intervals, producing less complexity. Go back now and see which one of each pair you chose to be more interesting or dynamic: the one with greater variety of intervals or the one without.

classic influences

play with design

Let’s do another exercise that is more of a game than a test like the one on the facing page. In this exercise, look at the ten black-and-white designs below, labeled A through J. After looking at all of them, answer the questions at the right. As in the previous exercise go with your first impulse. Use your imagination here. There are no right or wrong answers. You will most likely pick different answers than someone else, but neither of you would be wrong. You might also select the same design for several of these questions.

design decisions

Which design would you select to be the most active?

Which design would you select to be the most inactive?

Which design would you select to be the fastest?

Which design would you select to be the slowest?

Which design would you select to be the heaviest?

Which design would you select to be the lightest?

Which design would you select to be the loudest?

Which design would you select to be the most quiet?

Which design would you select to be the most boring?

Which design would you select to be the most interesting?

another design game

Now, let’s be a little more playful and imaginative with your choices. From the ten designs below, pick the one that you feel best answers the questions at the right. Again, there are no right or wrong answers. Don’t think about this too much. Go with an impulsive choice.

You can play this game for a long time. Try it with different people. After they make their selection, ask them why they picked what they did. Try it with a group—it’s an interesting party game.

design decisions

Which design would you select to be the happiest?

Which design would you select to be the saddest?

Which design would you select to be laughing out loud?

Which design would you select to be a shrill scream?

Which design would you select to be relaxed?

Which design would you select to be tense and nervous?

Which design would you associate with the taste of a vanilla ice cream?

Which design would you associate with the taste of tart cherries?

Which design would you associate with a bad headache?

Which design would you associate with a thunderstorm?

Here are a few more associations that will stretch your imagination:

Which design suggests flight? Monday morning? A tax audit? Sauerkraut? Groucho Marx? High anxiety?

visual tension

As we discovered with the previous games, we naturally associate various characteristics with abstract designs. Imagine arranging these designs in an order such as slowest to fastest, relaxed to nervous, lightest to heaviest or even sweet to sour.

Some designs will gravitate toward the slower, quieter, heavier side of these orderings, and others will be toward the faster, louder, lighter side. We could also arrange any designs in a scale with the most boring, predictable, dull design on one end and the most chaotic, busy, unpleasant on the other, as shown below.

Dull-to-distressing designs
This scale measures the amount of visual tension in a design. Here are two series of designs arranged in a scale or spectrum of visual tension. The dullest and most boring designs are on the left. These designs are orderly and predictable and are the least interesting. The most distressing and chaotic designs are on the right. These designs are so irregular and busy that they are unpleasant to look at. On either extreme, the designs are not appealing.

Somewhere in the middle of the dull-to-distressing scale of visual tension are the designs that are generally pleasing. They are stimulating to the brain without being overwhelming.

visual energy

We are all unique individuals with different experiences, beliefs and associations, and no two people will read the same associations or interpretations into the marks that we make. The design games on the previous pages show that people will have different responses to the same configurations. However, as distinct as we are one from each other, we also share much in common. There are some generalizations about the designs on the previous pages that are sufficiently broad to be useful to the artist.

One concept we can use to discuss the reactions most people have to certain marks is that of visual energy. Some marks and patterns are seen as having more energy than others, appearing to be more active or even in motion.

Horizontal lines appear less energized than vertical, vertical less than diagonal. As order decreases, energy appears to increase.

Passive
Horizontal lines exhibit little energy. They appear passive.

Active
Vertical lines exhibit more energy because they resist gravity.

Energetic
Diagonal lines are even more energetic because they actively fight gravity.

Motion
These lines suggest energy in motion.

Uncontrolled motion
These lines suggest uncontrolled motion, perhaps falling.

Explosive motion
These lines suggest almost explosive energy.

visual weight

Another concept that we can use to describe certain marks is that of visual weight. Just as some designs appear more active, some appear to be heavier. They have an apparent weight or heft that suggests they are more massive, ponderous or inert than others. Other designs just seem to be less heavy, capable of floating or being easily lifted or set into motion.

Often, but not necessarily always, weight and energy are exclusive. Many designs with more apparent visual energy do not have a quality of weightiness, and inactive designs do not have a quality of lightness.

Nevertheless, the terms visual energy and visual weight are useful—if not exactly scientific—ways to discuss the impression certain designs, marks or patterns have on most people.

Size and placement
The circle on the left is larger and closer to the bottom of the rectangle, so it appears heavier than the smaller circle on the right.

Edges and weight
Solid coloring and hard edges give the slab on the left an apparent density that makes it appear heavier than the soft-edged one on the right.

Placement
The black rectangle on the left is parallel to the frame around it and close to the bottom edge, so it appears stable. The one on the right appears to be floating because it is not parallel to the frame or close to the edge.

Shape, placement and color
The triangle on the left looks heavier than the yellow circle on the right because it is a stable shape with its base parallel to the bottom edge, and it has a dark, cool color.

dynamics of the frame

Any mark, shape or pattern on a surface creates a relationship with the edges of that surface, be it a piece of drawing paper, a pad of watercolor paper, a canvas or any other surface we can decorate or embellish. The mark interacts with the edges of the surface, creating a dynamic relationship that is affected by our sense of visual tension, weight or energy as discussed earlier. Since most painting and drawing are done on a rectangular surface, the dynamics of that format are an important part of composition.

Movement, thrust and conflict can be suggested by a mark’s orientation and proximity to the edges of its rectangular frame. In the examples on this page, position, distance, weight and energy affect our interpretation.

Distance from the frame
The closer a figure is placed to the edge or boundary of the rectangular frame, the greater the visual tension produced. The shape on the right has greater visual energy and less weight than the one on the left because it appears to be approaching, or perhaps trapped by, the corner of the frame.

Orientation within the frame
Both of these shapes have greater energy than the ones above because they have an oblique orientation. The shape on the right produces greater visual tension because one corner impinges on the frame. Its sharp corner is in contact with the edge and creates several angular shapes.

Movement through the frame
The black circle on the right generates greater visual tension or energy because it appears to have broken through the frame. Visual tension is created by the ambiguity of its movement either in or out of the frame and by its large size relative to that of the rectangular frame.

Relationships within the frame
The two circles on the left have a static relationship with the frame: they are equidistant from the edges and from each other and therefore exhibit little visual tension or energy. On the right, the circle contrasts with the shape next to it. They vary in size, color, shape, texture, orientation and contact with the edges of the frame, generating much more visual tension.

why the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION works

The rule Never make any two intervals the same is based on human nature. We seek change to add variety in our lives. By varying the intervals as we compose our paintings, we introduce variety. Successful composition is based on this human need.

This book focuses on how to make a pleasing design, because that is what most artists want most of the time. However, all the rules for making a design pleasing also can be used to make an unpleasant design—either unpleasantly boring or unpleasantly chaotic—if that is your artistic intention.

Since we are all unique individuals with different experiences, beliefs and associations, no two people will read the same message into the marks that we make. The marks we make are open to unlimited interpretation; they are symbols with no exact, universal meaning.

the science behind a good composition

Create interest with variety
This painting is a quick study in the conscious, deliberate application of the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same to an imaginary still life. All the dimensions were intentionally made different. There is enough variety to create interest, but not so much as to disrupt the overall unity of the picture. (The compositional principles applied here will be examined in detail in the following chapters.)

Vary the shapes
The shapes of the objects vary in size and complexity (although in retrospect, it appears that there may be too many boring circular shapes—perhaps a lemon and a pumpkin could have replaced the generic yellow and orange shapes).

Concentrate on placement
The center of interest—the flowers—is located at the intersection of vertical and horizontal thirds. The flowers form a focal point (an eye magnet) because they are the lightest, brightest objects, have greater detail and complexity, and are visually more active than other parts of the picture.

Lead the eye
The lines lead the eye into the picture, not out. Any lines or shapes that might direct the viewer’s attention to an outside edge or corner of the picture have been avoided.

The three lightest focal areas, the flowers, the yellow shape and the orange shape, form three points of interest that keep the eye circulating within the rectangle. Notice too, how they form a triangular path, no side of which is parallel to the frame.

Full Moon Donald W. Patterson 18" x 15" (46cm x 38cm) Watercolor and gouache on paper