Chapter 8 The Visual Experience

The use of forms that are similar yet different, on either side of a vertical axis.

• Balance

• Approximate Symmetry

• Motif

• Asymmetrical

A feeling of balance attained when the visual units on either side of a vertical axis are actually different but are placed in the composition to create a "felt" balance of the total artwork.

• Radial

• Symmetrical

• Radial

• Asymmetrical

A principles of design referring to the arrangement of visual elements to create stability in an artwork. Asymmetrical, Symmetrical, Approximate Symmetrical, and Radial.

• Balance

• Scale

• Sequence

• Variety

A strategy for achieving unity in an artwork in which an element or series of elements that occur through a composition may direct the viewer's attention from one place to another.

• Halting everything

• Going for it!

• Continuing

• Continuation

The most prominent or important form in a piece of art.

• Dominant

• Extra Dominant

• Super Dominant

• Not very dominant

A principle of design in which one element, or a combination of elements, create more attention than anything else in a composition. The dominant element is usually a focal point in a composition and contributes to unity by suggesting that other elements are subordinate to it.

• Emphasized

• Emphasis

• Important

• Focal Point

The appearance of movement in a static artwork resulting from an artist's use of elements such as: subject matter, line, shape, progression, repetition and alternation, running or pointing figures, etc.

• Implied Color

• Implied Texture

• Implied Movement

• Implied Thoughts

Any art construction that contains moving elements that can be set in motion by the action of gravity, air currents, motors, springs, or magnets.

• Optical Art

• Motivational Art

• Kid Art

• Kinetic Art

Repeated element or combination of elements that repeat in a pattern.

• Motif

• Pattern

• Rhythm

• Movement

A principle of design associated with rhythm, referring to the arrangement of parts in an artwork to create a sense of motion to the viewer's eye through the work.

• Repeated Motif

• Rhythm

• Motion

• Movement