ARCH101 BASIC DESIGN / Exercise 5a

THE DESIGN CONCEPT OF CONTRAST

Contrast is a design property that defines elements by making them look different from other elements. Using contrast is a way of emphasizing the point where you want people to look at. The maximum contrast in a work of art is usually located at the center of interest. Artists employ different design features in creating contrast. As an example of contrast we can show this work of art called “Starry Night”. In this work, the artist made contrast in color, size, shape and texture. Starting with color, Van Gogh grabs our attention to the moon and the stars, which poses a contrast to the whole town, mountains and the sky. Another aspect of contrast is size. In general, larger objects are more noticable than smaller ones. In this painting, because the moon is larger than the houses in the town and lots of other elements, it grabs our attention easily. Shape is also creates emphasis by contrast. The moon in this painting grabs our attention by being a very round object while the roofs are angular. There are also stars which are round in the sky. It is because they may be as important as the moon in the scene. The last thing I want to mention is texture. The moon is the relatively smooth object. The other elements in the scene have  a stripy look. It draws our attention away from all of the highly textured elements. By making the moon as the center of contrast, the artist makes us think that the most important thing in the scene is the moon.

ÇAĞLA DUYGU ÜSTÜN