7 Principles of Organization

1. Harmony - May be defined as a pleasing relationship between different sections of a composition. It occurs when elements or independent parts have characteristics in common - such as repeated colors, similar textures, shared edges, etc. These areas become vitality linked; their commonality makes them visually related or pulled together.
   
   
2. Variety - The counterweight to harmony, the other side of organization essential to unity. Harmony brings a work together while variety imparts individuality. It is a factor of visual contrast - an isolation of elements and images. The introduction of variety actively separates areas of images to make them more exciting and let them stand apart.
   
   
3. Balance - A sense of equilibrium between areas of implied weight, attention, attraction, or moments of force.
   
   
4. Proportion – Deals with the ratio of individual parts to one another or to the whole. For example, the length of an arm in comparison to the length or the whole body is a proportional relationship.
   
   
5. Dominance - Where certain visual elements assume more importance than others within the same composition or design. Some features are emphasized, and others are subordinated. Dominance is often created by increased contrasts through the use of isolation, placement, direction, scale and character.
   
   
6. Movement - Eye travel directed by visual pathways in a work of art. Movement is guided by harmonious connections, areas of variety, the placement of visual weights, areas of dominance, choices in proportions, spatial devices and so on.
   
   
7. Economy - The distillation of the image to the basic essentials for clarity of presentation. As a work develops, the artist may realize that the solutions are resulting in unnecessary complexity. Economy means composing with efficiency - expressing an idea as simply and directly as possible with no arbitrary or excessive use of the elements.