Principles of Two-Dimensional Design

My least favorite part of creating a new work is usually regarding composition. I find it to be more stressful then "exhilarating" because I have never fully grasped all of the elements that epitomize a great composition. This chapter helped simplify elements of design for me through the Gestalt Theory and also provided examples of work that matched a specific element. "Creating an effective partnership between unity and variety is essential" (Stewart79). I felt that this sentence summed up the goal of the entire chapter quite well. To achieve this in a composition I learned that we generally group objects by location, orientation, shape, and color. It is also important to focus on containment which adds definition to negative space and gives a boundary for the subject. Repetition can be used to repeat elements creating unity and proximity can be used to play with the distance between elements possibly leading to visual tension in a work. Continuity is the fluid connection of parts in a work and I felt that the example of the Raft of Medusa was very helpful in visualizing this particular element. Finally there is closure which refers to the minds ability to connect fragmentary information. The combination of these elements represent the Gestalt Theory and felt that they all create more unity in a composition.
The later part of the chapter focused more on ways to achieve variety which I find to be more visually stimulating. Through emphasis created by focal points and illusions created through space or even movement variety can be obtained in a systematic way. At the end of the chapter I realized that the "essential partnership" is achieved by determining which of these many elements you find most important and allowing it to dominate while the others simply complement the work.