Composition and Design Principles
This domain tests how you organise a picture. Marks depend on a clear focal point, readable value pattern, balanced but not static arrangement, and controlled negative space.
Core rules
- Elements include line, shape, form, colour, value, texture and space. Principles include balance, emphasis, movement, rhythm, proportion, scale, unity and variety.
- Place the focal point using contrast, isolation or convergence, not by centring everything.
- Use an odd number of major shapes and vary their sizes; equal spacing looks mechanical.
- Overlap shapes to create depth; keep negative shapes interesting.
- Check the notan-the light-dark pattern-before adding detail.
- Avoid tangents where edges just touch, and avoid a horizon that cuts the format exactly in half.
Worked example
Arrange a still life with a bottle, bowl and fruit. Put the bottle slightly off-centre on a third, overlap the bowl so its ellipse is partly hidden, and vary the fruit heights. Let the bottle’s cast shadow lead toward the fruit but stop short of the edge. The largest dark mass sits low, the brightest light sits near the focal fruit. Reason: the eye travels from contrast to contrast, and overlap plus shadow creates depth without clutter.
Traps
Centring every object. Adding detail before the value pattern works. Tangents that flatten space. Equal intervals between shapes. Competing focal points. Cropping objects accidentally rather than deliberately.