Design 911: Composition

By Andrea Melione
This article originally appeared in ArtTrader Magazine, Fall 2008 Issue 4

Hi and welcome to Design 911!  An article series that helps you develop your design and composition skills!  Composition is basically the arrangement of elements within a space. How you place your elements is important; are you creating harmony?  Rhythm?  Balance?  Likewise, creating a space in which you put elements will make these elements more interesting to look at. My goal in this series is to provide readers with an introduction and overview of concepts from composition.  It is not meant to be exhaustive.  For a more extensive treatment, you can check out the following books: ‘Pictorial Composition’ by Henry Rankin Poore, and ‘Introduction to Two-Dimensional Design: Understanding Form and Function’  by John Bowers.  This article specifically addresses creating space with elements, and the importance of the placement of a single element.  I hope to address more aspects in future issues of ArtTrader. Once you place an element on you card, you instantly create space, which is the area around the chosen elemnts (like a herd of rabid bunnies or a moldy bread loaf.)  To show you what I am talking about I will introduce you to two families: The Symmetrical Family and the Asymmetrical Family.

The Symmetrical Family is a little dull:

They stand like soldiers dead center within the card. The horizon line behind them is also dead center. There is no excitement, no Joie de virvre, and no escargot. It is no wonder their ATC looks like this:

If we divide the card down the center vertically, you may notice that both sides look nearly the same, right on down to the fruit. This is called symmetry. There is total balance. It is not too bad, but it is not very interesting either. The Asymmetrical Family eats their wheeties:

They like excitement and escargot! This family stands over to the left of the card. The little ones are not of equal size, and the horizon line is a bit lower than dead center. This is called asymmetry. If we divide the card vertically down the center, both sides are not similar at all. Their ATC ends up looking like this:

And look! They gave the horizon line in the back a bit of a slope! How much more interesting is that?! Even the fruit is pleasingly off center.

Because ATC’s are so small, we have to make the most of our limited space. We can do this by using asymmetry to create an ‘illusion’ of greater space: remember the area around your herd of bunnies or moldy bread is just as important as the elements themselves.

Another thing to keep in mind when dividing your ATC space is the Golden Ratio or Golden Section. The golden section is like asymmetry perfected and is approximately 1.618 to 1. The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle discussed the subject extensively. Try making an internet search for either term to learn more.

Now that we’ve learned about making use of our space, let’s discuss placement, specifically of a single dominant element. The following feature strong and successful examples. This clown card is by Leah Budin. It features an imprisoned clown. Take a look at where I have divided the card. The red lines cut the card in perfect half, both vertically and horizontally. What makes this card pleasing is the fact that the clown is shifted to the left of the center. The dark blue line represents how the card would be divided according to the Golden Ratio. Notice how the chin of the clown falls exactly on this line.

Another successful card featuring a single dominant element is by William Gridley. This card is in fact quite symmetrical looking. This card works though because of the bold, strong color scheme, the figure has an almost religions Icon feel and communicates a sense of power. Even so, if you look at the dividing lines, you’ll see that the figure is not perfectly centered. The circled halo in the back is a pleasing shape and again is slightly off center. The border and lettering at the bottom create a visual weight that keeps the figure from looking top heavy.

Composition can usually make or break a card, the best way the strengthen your ability is to actively think about composition from the very beginning. When you look through your collection or past work, try to analyze the work you like and find out why the composition works! Next time we’ll be looking at tangents, ambiguity and negative space.

Extra Tips!

• Cropping: Try cropping your figures! Cut off the side of the head or body (the famous painter Degas is famous for doing with figures in his paintings)
• Scale: scale is a good way to create a dynamic composition. Use small images and large together. the smaller an object is further away it can look. Larger images appear closer.
• Color: You can indeed boost your composition by using bold color schemes! Try complementary colors – orange/blue, red/green, yellow/purple. Black, white and any color is also very striking.