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Emphasis and variety can be used to achieve more diversity in a composition. Proportion describes the relationship of elements to one another and to the whole composition.
Definitions
- Emphasis - A more extreme difference between an element or a principle.
- Variety - Diversity in elements or principles.
- Proportion - The relationship of elements to one another and to the whole composition.
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Let's take a look at a few more
principles of art and design.
0:00
First up is emphasis,
which is also sometimes called contrast.
0:04
Whenever you have a difference
between an element or principle,
0:10
it tends to get noticed.
0:13
Our human nature is to compare and
quantify everything, even if we do so
0:16
without realizing it.
0:20
So when you have a difference in shape,
line, color, and so
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forth, it sticks out,
and it gets emphasized.
0:26
Out of all the elements and
principles of art and
0:29
design, I personally think that this
is the one that's most applicable
0:32
to creating software experiences and
webpages.
0:36
This is an extreme example where
it's somewhat difficult to look at
0:40
anything else except for
this orange circle.
0:44
But if you want to guide the user toward
a particular action like getting them to
0:47
pick a more expensive plan or
getting them to sign up for a newsletter,
0:51
you can use emphasis to subtly
direct their attention.
0:57
Next up is variety.
1:01
If things are too similar
in a piece of art or
1:03
design, they can start to feel boring
because your brain knows what to expect.
1:07
Mixing things up can be exciting and can
consequently make people pay a bit more
1:13
attention because they don't
already know what's coming,
1:17
especially when they're scrolling
down a web page or an app.
1:21
Variety is achieved through
a diversity of elements of art.
1:24
You could add different shapes together,
change the quality of lines,
1:28
use different textures,
different colors, and so forth.
1:33
If emphasis is about a difference
between two elements,
1:36
you can think of variety as
the quantification of those differences.
1:40
How many differences are there,
and are those differences, and
1:46
the quantity of them pleasing to the eye?
1:50
If there are no differences at all,
a design will feel very boring.
1:54
And if there are too few differences,
1:58
one part of a design might
overpower everything else.
2:01
And if there's too much variety, you're
right back where you started because if
2:04
everything is emphasized,
then really nothing is emphasized.
2:09
Because it's all screaming for
your attention at the same volume.
2:12
And finally, there's proportion.
2:17
We're going to look at proportion
using the same example here.
2:20
And proportion describes a relationship
of elements to one another, and
2:23
to the whole composition.
2:28
That can certainly be
a difference in scale.
2:29
For example if one shape
appears larger than another.
2:32
But it goes beyond that.
2:36
For example, if there's a ratio
between two or more colors, and
2:37
a composition has a lot of red,
and not a lot of blue.
2:42
They would have
a disproportionate relationship.
2:44
Or the colors might be
presented in equal parts and
2:48
you could say that it is
a proportional relationship.
2:52
This isn't a good or a bad thing either
way, it's merely an observation.
2:56
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