The history of human painting has almost accompanied every stage of human existence. From casual painting to having an arrangement, that is, having the awareness of composition. In the "Six Principles" of painting proposed by Xie He, a painter of the Southern Qi Dynasty, the concept of "operating position" refers to composition. Does the word "operation" include thinking? Analysis, research? A series of mental activities such as deliberation and deliberation. "Position" not only refers to the placement of objects on a painting, but also includes the overall structure and layout of the entire picture. The Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Yanyuan said, "Managing the position is the key to painting." It is evident that composition is a very important technique. The Five Dynasties painter Jing Hao and the Song Dynasty painter Fan Kuan adopted a "panoramic" composition. Ma Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty? Xia GUI and others adopted the "corner style" composition, thus earning the reputation of "golden edges and silver corners". The composition of the Eight Great Mountain Men is mostly circular. Pan Tianshou, on the other hand, prefers square compositions. There are two major characteristics of composition in Chinese painting: First, it highlights the creative principle that form is subordinate to content; Second, it reflects the dialectical law of diversity and unity. Composition studies have been constantly evolving through the efforts of generations of artists.
The above has covered the development overview of composition studies both at home and abroad. Now, I will discuss how to apply the principles of composition studies to layout design.
Symmetrical composition
Is the advantage of symmetrical composition solemnity? It is stable, but the drawback is that if not used properly, it can easily give people a rigid impression. The gates of Tian 'anmen Square are symmetrical on each side, with one main gate in the middle and two symmetrical gates on each side of the main gate. What would it feel like if there were two on one side and one on the other? In the center of the grand courtyard of a prominent Chinese family, there hangs a central hall. On both sides of the hall are banners or couplets. What would it feel like if one side has them but the other doesn't? Is it obviously not solemn? Unstable. The human body is symmetrical and balanced, but it doesn't look good if a model stands upright and has straight limbs when taking a photo. It can be seen that symmetrical design should be used appropriately. For instance, in the design of formal and solemn articles, as well as in the design of couplets for festival newspapers and periodicals, symmetrical design is more appropriate.
Balanced composition
Balanced composition is the most applicable and commonly used method. For instance, if a large photo is placed in the lower right corner of a newspaper layout, making it look rather heavy, then we should consider making a move on the left side. Isn't this as simple as placing a photo in the lower left corner as well? Wouldn't that be a rigid symmetry? You can place it in the lower left corner. If the lower right corner is a large horizontal photo, it's best to place a vertical one in the lower left corner, and a smaller one is better. It would be best to have a photo in the middle to echo it. Besides the photo which can adjust the layout, there should also be a column header designed for the column (called a newspaper header)? Tail flower? The main title, etc. Can photos also be placed near the main title? Illustration. In conclusion, a visual balance should be achieved rather than an absolute average.
Gold edges and silver corners
Ma Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty? The landscape paintings of Xia GUI and others adopt the "corner style" composition, making the pictures ethereal, elegant and full of charm. The use of corners in layout design is also very common, whether it's for opening titles or placing pictures? Table? The design of decorative lines and the like enjoys the reputation of "golden edges and silver corners", so one must pay close attention to the design of the edges and corners and not be careless.
How can we design the "golden border and silver corner" well? This is inseparable from the application of points, lines and surfaces. In Chinese painting, there are no shortage of masters in the use of points, lines and surfaces. We incorporate these three factors into layout design. A header, a tail flower and a LOGO can be regarded as dots. Take a wave, a row of small letters and a row of small flowers as a line; Treat photos, illustrations or even a special piece of text as a facade. Make interesting arrangements and combinations to create a beautiful layout.
Frame-style design
Frame-style design is like a multi-compartment cabinet; it has a frame first and then places things. The multi-compartment compartments come in various shapes such as horizontal and vertical, wide and narrow, and even curved and straight, square and round. The items placed there are also of all kinds. The layout of the frame structure we design should also be as diverse as a multi-compartment grid to avoid being rigid. Unless there are special requirements.
"Treat white as black"
The blankness of Chinese painting does not mean there is nothing, but rather it is rich in content.
Draw on the structure of Chinese characters
Chinese characters with an upper and lower structure, such as "zhi"; Those with an upper, middle and lower structure, such as chapters; Those with left and right structures are like forests. Those with a left-middle-right structure, like ruts; There are those with a smaller top and a larger bottom, as shown in you; Some are larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, like armor. Some are larger on the left and smaller on the right, as shown here. Some are smaller on the left and larger on the right, as shown in the item. A character with a left-right structure has one side that is also structured up and down or up, middle and down, such as "qing" and "zhang". There are various forms in some places, such as left-right structures and so on. All these provide reference materials for layout design. A magazine layout, with two columns, seems to have a left-right structure of characters, and three columns, seems to have a left-center-right structure of characters. Why are the characters divided into three parts? Can it be divided into five or even more parts? That would be too chaotic. By the same reasoning, too many columns in a magazine are also not conducive to reading. Drawing on the shape of the character "A", we can design a cover or advertisement page with a large photo on top and some text at the bottom, which is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom. Let's take the structure of the character "zhang" as an example to make a design. The character "Zhang" is a left-right structure, and its right half is an upper-middle-bottom structure. We can imitate its right side to design the main title, subtitle, preface, etc., and place a set of photos on the right side. Similarly, one can draw on the structure of fonts to create many creative ideas, and also draw on foreign languages to come up with good ideas. I won't give more examples here.
Graphic design in Europe and America is already quite mature. Japan, which also uses square characters, has its own set of theories, adhering to the word "harmony", that is, design should be round and harmonious. At present, there is no unique design concept to pursue in our country. Let me venture to define it as "poetic". This poetic quality is not merely: "The waterfall plunges three thousand feet straight down, as if the Milky Way had fallen from the ninth heaven." "Solitary smoke rises straight in the vast desert, and the setting sun is round on the long river." " Two orioles sing among the green willows, and a row of white egrets soar into the blue sky. These quantitative and tangible pursuits represent a broader poetic realm. Let's work together!
