This is the second installment in the 5×5 secret Rules in Design and Advertising. So far, I’ve covered:

• Part 1: Basic Rules

Set 2: The Rules of Composition in Design

“Composition” describes the arrangement of the elements of art, or design, in an artwork, using the principles of design. Sometimes, comp is used as a substitute for artwork (mainly in advertising), although that’s actually incorrect, as the artwork is the piece itself and not the placement of the elements inside.

This leads us to the question: What are the elements of design? The answer is the first rule of composition:

1. Know your Stuff

The first rule of composition refers to knowing the elements and principles of design. Let’s take a look at the elements first.

These are the basic components, or ingredients, we use to produce an artwork. They provide the structure for a design. The elements of design are:

• color - has three properties: hue/tint (red), intensity/purity (bright red), and what is an element of design itself:
• value - the lightness or darkness (luminance), especially important for monochrome artwork
• line - we all know a line when we see it - it can be straight or curved, thick or thin, solid or dashed or dotted, blurred or fuzzy, etc. etc.
• shape - usually two-dimensional (e.g. a square)
• form - a three-dimensional shape (e.g. a cube)
• texture - the “feel” of an object, expressed by a surface quality like flat, glossy, glittery, wet, furry, sandy, leathery, etc.
• space - the distance between (negative) and taken up by (positive) objects

Looking at our everyday work, we can see that everything we create and use, from a photograph over a vector illustration to a typeface, is made up of these elements.

Now, as we know what we’re talking about, let’s take a look at the principles of design. These refer directly to the elements of design as named above. They are intended to lead the designer in order to create a “better” artwork. Some tend to see the principles of design as ideals, others as issues; however both as inherent in the best designs. The principles of design are:

• balance - the way the elements of art are arranged to create stability (symmetry, asymmetry, radial)
• emphasis - the dominance given to an element in an artwork
• harmony - a union, or blend, of aesthetically compatible components
• movement - arranging, and combining, the elements of art to produce the look of action; also in a way that causes the eye to move over the work
• pattern / rhythm - the repetition of an element; visual tempo creating movement
• proportion - comparative relation of one part to another
• tension - tenuous balance, capable of causing anxiety or exitement
• unity - the combination of all elements into one complete whole, achieved through balancing harmony and variety
• variety - the opposite of monotony in an artwork; the use of diversity

So there you have them. Knowing the elements and principles of design is of great importance for every designer. We use the elements every day and use the principles to make a composition, so we should know what we’re talking about!
Let’s move on to the 2nd rule of composition:

2. The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is sometimes referred to as the golden ratio of design or photography, and again, that’s not too correct. The golden ratio is a mathematic function used in art and architechture, describing the ideal relation of distance between objects to make it pleasing for the eye. The rule of thrids though is more valuable in design, thus a rule of composition.

The rule of thirds states that by dividing an artwork with evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines - two of each, creating 9 parts -, the intersections of these lines are to be sought after as the most preferred focal points of an artwork or photograph. This is because at these points, the eye has the best perception of the main object in relation to the surrounding objects. By applying the rule of thirds to your artwork, you can stress the focal point and turn a rather dull image into something more interesting.

Let’s take a look at this example. This is a photo of a kid at the beach. It’s shot without any rule or anything of that sort in mind:

Now, let’s see if we can make this photograph more interesting. First, we will apply two horizontal and two vertical lines, dividing the photo into nine equal parts.

Now, let’s play around a bit. What is the focal point of the photo? Where do we want the eye to jump to? I would say it’s the boy’s head. So we scale the grid in order to put one of the four intersections right onto our intended focal point, like this:

Now, we just crop the image according to the new borders - and voilà, this is how our photo looks now:

Do you notice the difference? Applying the rule of thirds created a much more interesting image. We can find this rule in practice in advertising, as well. Here are a few examples - this is an ad for the Hard Rock Cafe:

Guess where the intersections of our lines are:

That takes the cake! Another ad for the American Newspaper Association:

As you see, the focal point of the image doesn’t have to be exactly at the intersection of two lines. It works just as well if it’s just in close proximity. Just like these ads for Axe:

Here, too, the most “interesting” spots are created by using the rule of thirds - but also our next rule of composition, which is:

3. The Rules of Odds and Space

These two rules are best explained in reference to each other. They state that an artwork is more interesting and appealing to the eye when
a) displaying an odd number of objects - in contrast to picturing an even number of objects, and when
b) there is room for the eye to “breathe” and add its own context.

The rule of odds is quite interesting; it’s not too well known but it does apply. It may be because when you have an odd number of objects, there is always one in the middle (of the objects, not necessarily of the image), adding a sort of frame, or comfort, to the artwork. We can find this out by taking a look at these ads for Harvey Nichols:

You can also see the rule of odds in the following ad; it doesn’t only apply to the whole image, but also to sections of the artwork:

The second part of this rule, the rule of space, states that when you have, say, a picture of a man who is looking to the upper right, you should place him (as the focal point) to the lower left and leave space where his eyes are pointing at. This, as a result, leaves room for the viewer to put their own imagination to work. This rule, if used properly, is of great importance in photography, where you have a greater need of creating an inspiring environment. In advertising, on the other hand, you don’t always want to leave too much room for imagination - you rather want to control what the viewer is imagining. These ads for Eurostar make quite a good use of space:

Now, that we came this far, I think it’s time for a coffee break. Bookmark this page and grab a coffee.

Back? Let’s go on with the next rule of composition:

4. The Rule of Eyepath

Never leave the viewer alone! You, the designer, have to control the eye. You do this by using the elements of design according to the principles of design. You stress the focal point(s) and devitalize the surrounding elements to produce an ideal “path” for the eye. If you follow this rule, the eye follows the path you create, leading to the effect you intend to communicate with your design.

This is of importance when you want to send a message (you do want that in advertising). For instance, when you design a visual ad, you want the eye to consume the image first, then, if existent, the descriptive copy, followed by the product or brand you’re selling. For the simple fact that with visual ads, the image - as an entry point - creates the contextual bubble by calling up an emotion, the copy communicates the value in a more objective manner, and the product, as the exit point, is supposed to remain in your mind, simply because it’s the last object your eye consumes, resulting in a lasting image in your brain.
To lead the eye, we use the following elements:

• sweetspots,
• leads,
• pointers,
• blocks, and
• exits.

Take a look at these ads for Axe:

Notice the use of:

• the rule of thirds
• the rule of eyepath (1. sweetspot, 2. block, 3. exit; in the third image, 1 and 2 can be switched). Note: it’s a proven fact that entry points vary for the sexes. This example mainly applies for men; the first two spots could be transposed when a woman views the ad!
• the rule of interval, demonstrated by the dashed lines in the ads. This is our 5th and final rule of composition:

5. Never make any two intervals the same

This rule is by Greg Albert - artist, teacher and author of this famous book. He reduces all of the above mentioned to one simple rule: never make two intervals of distance, length, spacing and dimensions the same. So actually, it’s not a reduction, but a “golden rule” to be applied to the use of the elements of design, mentioned in our first rule. Basically, Albert says that if you neglect this rule, your artwork will never accomplish its full potential. This can be for the simple reason that too much repetition (in this case, repetition of intervals) causes brain boredom, thus strips an image of its potential value. If you’re interested in learning more about this rule and its practical value, you should get a copy of his bestseller, The Simple Secret to Better Painting.

Et Voilà!

Here you go, these were the 5 rules of composition. I tried to stay brief, but it’s almost impossible to explain these rules in just one simple sentence. There is even room for further posts to cover this subject more thorough, but for the sake of the 5×5 secret Rules in Design and Advertising, I hope you find this post useful and come back next week when we’re gonna take a look at Part 3: the five Rules of Workflow and Getting it Done.

In the meantime, take a minute to subscribe to our RSS Feed, and leave us a comment: what do you think about these rules? Are they new to you? If so, do you recognize yourself using them in your work?