Breaking down the principles of Design: Balance, Emphasis, Proportion, Symmetry, Unity, Rhythm
Balance — KMB 2019, Source: Author.
Left to right —Rhythm, Symmetry, Proportion — Source: Author
Left to right-Aichi - Balance (Aichi is a prefecture in Japan that has one of the most balanced natural habitats to urban city ratio in terms of land allocation. The city has been a forerunner in rolling out several initiatives to enable urban living in harmony with nature. This made me curious and I looked up Aichi on Google Earth. Not very surprisingly the aerial view was a perfect balance of greenery and land. https://satoyama-initiative.org/case_studies/working-for-the-living-in-harmony-with-nature-aichis-efforts-toward-ecosystem-networking/), Dessert Breath — Rhythm (Dessert Breath is an impossibly immense art installation project created by the D.A.ST. Arteam in Egyptian sands. This installation serves both as a visual and a physical experience allowing viewers to walk the spirals of sand and experience the passage of time), Potash Ponds — Emphasis (Potash pondsin Moab, Utah have added copper sulfate to accelerate evaporation, and prevent bacterial contamination. This gives these ponds the characteristic stark blue in the middle of rocky desserts.). Source: Google Earth
Left to right- Prismatic spring — Contrast (Rainbow coloured prismatic spring where the temperate in different rings are conducive for the living organisms of varying colours. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/science-behind-yellowstones-rainbow-hot-spring-180950483/); Turino city, Italy — Unity. Source: Google Earth
Symmetry — Protein assemblies. Proteins in the human body self-assemble into symmetric or pseudo symmetric structures inside cells to aid in critical cellular functions. Source: https://www.rcsb.org/
Principles of design in Sound
Proportion/Rhythm — One of my favourite songs, favourite band. This song was created with time signatures/lyrics inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. This song derives its melody based on a mathematical proportion which in turn creates a peculiar rhythmic experience for the listener.
Balance — A classic 4/4 time signature from the Beatles. 4/4 means there are 4 beats per measure of the time scale. These are some of the most common time signatures in popular music as it provides a stable rhythm.
Emphasis — Metal music reminds me of emphasis as they are generally louder, have more musical distortion as well as an emphasis on speed and rhythm.
Unity — I will forever be fascinated by how this marble machine creates music. All 2000 marbles come together to create such a pleasant sound.
Symmetry — Generally, music turns into cacophony when played in reverse (exception some of Bach’s timeless pieces which sound great both ways, although it doesn’t sound the same). In my search for music that sounds the same regardless of the direction in which it is played, accidentally found this on YT and I personally think this is as symmetric as music can get.
Other explorations
Explorations of principles of design with other senses
