Formal balance places equal or very similar objects on either side of a central axis. In radial balance, equal or similar objects radiate from a central point. Informal balance is a balance of unlike objects. Visual artists achieve informal balance by considering all the visual weight factors and arranging objects carefully. The concept of visual balance is one that grows with experience.
Some artists intentionally create visually unbalanced works.
At the secondary level, students will understand how artists use balance to achieve different expressive qualities and how balance can be affected by placement of objects, use of colour, direction of line, use of pattern, etc. Rhythm is one of the most accessible principles of design because life is full of rhythmic images, events, sounds, etc. Students will make connections between rhythm in other disciplines and visual art. Through this study, they begin to understand that visual rhythms are often created through repetition and that the way the images are arranged or presented can imply meaning or express ideas and feelings. Emphasis Emphasis is the principle of design that causes one element or area of a work of art to be more important than the other parts.