Chapter 3
The Principles of Design
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter, introduce the Principles of Design. Outline the concept of designing space
both two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. Discuss how a space is organized
using these design principles.
Sub Headers
• Placement
o Balance
o Symmetry and Asymmetry
• Emphasis
o Unity and Variety
o Proportion and Scale
• Designing and Organizing Space and Depth
• Linear Perspective
o A Modern Way of Seeing Cubism and Nonperspective Space
Terms:
asymmetrical balance
atmospheric perspective
balance
Cubism
designs
figure
figure-ground ambiguity
foreshortening
ground
horizon line
linear perspective
mandalas
negative form
negative space
one-point perspective
picture plane
positive form
proportion
radial balance
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rhythm
scale
symmetrical balance
unity
vanishing point
visual weight
Lecture #1
Discussion:
Discuss placement and Emphasis.
Class Questions/Prompts:
1. The Woes of a Sculptor Design must be taken into consideration by any artist, but for
the sculptor, the composition needs to be well designed from three-dimensions. Discuss
the problems a sculptor may encounter while designing and constructing the three-
dimensional artwork. Look at images from the text in your discussion, such as the Portal
of Palazzetto Zuccarri in Rome (figure 3-4), the Cycladic idol (figure 3-6), and the
Colossal Buddha (figure 3-16).
2. The Yin and the Yang The Yin/Yang symbol is a traditional Chinese symbol
representing duality, opposites that are complementary. The Yin/Yang represents
shade/sun, passive/active, dark/light, and feminine/masculine. The design itself is in
perfect balance. Why is it considered such a good example of balance and figure/ground
ambiguity?
3. Perfect Proportion What is the nature of true proportion? The ancient Roman
architect looked at the proportion of man by inscribing the figure in a circle within a
square. The Greeks looked at the idea of the Golden Mean with the perfect proportion
being 1:1.618, and this proportion is said to be found in the Parthenon. Other cultures
apply a hierarchical scale, depicting the most important person in the community as the
largest in a work of art. Is there a perfect proportion of building? Of human proportion?
Why or why not?
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 3-7 Ex Libris page from an album Shamsa (“sunburst” inscribed
with the titles of Shah Jahan), c. 1640. Colors and gilt on paper.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 3-10 Tara Donovan, Untitled, 2003. Styrofoam cups, hot glue, size
variable. ACE Gallery, New York.
Figure 3-11 Jacques Germain Soufflot, Pantheon (Sainte Genevieve),
Paris, France, 1755-1790
Lecture #2
Discussion:
In Lecture #2, focus on organizing space and perspective.
Class Questions/Prompts:
West Meets East: A Matter of Space Chapter 3 compares how space is used by
Western and non-Western cultures, from the linear perspective of the Renaissance to the
Persian illuminated manuscript’s use of positioning on the page, to Braque’s fractured
sense of space in Cubism. How did the artists of the 20th century break with Western
conventions of space? How can Braque’s Violin and Palette have a truer and more
realistic sense of space than Escher’s Waterfall?
Exercise #2
1. Analysis
Figure 3-23 George Caleb Bingham, Raftsmen Playing Cards, 1847. Oil
on canvas, 28″ × 38″. The St. Louis Museum of Art, MO.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 3-25 Georges Braque, Violin and Palette (Violon et Palette), 1909.
Oil on canvas, 36 1/8” x 16 7/8”. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Figure 3-26 M.C. Escher, Waterfall, 1961. Lithograph. 15” x 11 ¾”
Escher Foundation-Baarn-Holland.