Principles of Design - Unity

Principles of Design - Unity
I thought it was time to finish the blog posts about the elements and principles of design.

Principles of design are applied to design elements to bring them together into one complete design.  The way the principles of design are applied determines how successful a design of a space can be.

Unity means keeping your design in a sort of harmony in which all sections of the pattern make other sections feel complete.  Unit helps the design to be seen as one design instead of randomness.

To achieve visual unity all elements are in agreement.  No individual part is viewed as more important than the whole design.  A good balance between unity and variety must be established to avoid a chaotic or lifeless design.

When I am designing space it is hard to explain when something is not unified so I tend to go with my gut and feel when the interiors is unified.  There is a sense of coming together and when you have success  it is when the space feel complete.  Before that point it was missing something or something was just not right.

There are a few methods used to create unity:

• Proximity
• How items are placed within a space is key.  As you see in the picture above, the Eames side chairs are located within the room.  They bring together the white wall and the white sofa along the windows.  They also fill the space since they are located in the middle of the space.
• Similarity
• You can see how using similar finishes create unity in the photo above.  The same color of wood in the trim, ceiling, floor and Eames chairs bring the space together.  The other finishes in the room are white or in a neutral tone so one one piece stands out it all works together.
• Rhythm 
• Rhythm is illustrated above with the light grey wood wall in the photo above.  The strong horizontal lines of the wood wall create a flow which adds depth to the space and complements the strong lines in the wood ceiling and floor.   The key reason this works in this space is that the lines of the wood don't fight with each other, they create the unity in the space.

References:

1. White, Alex (2011). The Elements of Graphic Design. New York, NY: Allworth Press. pp. 81-105.