3.2 Conclusion

This section has introduced you to some important principles of composition.

All designed things have a structure. It can be a physical structure or a visual structure. Some structures are an assembly of many parts.

Assembling parts can give rise to repetition. This creates a visual rhythm just like music can offer auditory rhythms.

Symmetry can bring a sense of order to a design composition. Asymmetry offers opportunities to achieve a more complex balance between visual parts.

There are some guidelines to achieving attractive proportions in visual design. The Golden Ratio and the rule of thirds are two such guidelines.

Visual composition consists of positive and negative space. Achieving your preferred balance between these can involve other principles of composition.

Composition often displays a point of emphasis. Colour or other forms of contrast can be used to create emphasis.

Often in design thinking, rules are made to be broken. There are many examples of successful design where these principles have been bent or broken. In order to understand when and how these rules can be broken to achieve a high impact, you can use your skills of sketching, modelling or prototyping to try out ideas and to get feedback from others.