- Any aesthetic quality is usually enhanced by the presence of a counterpoint. This is playing with the viewer’s expectations.
- Use prior symbolisms. For example, the cardinal points offer associations 1
- East - youthfulness, innocence, freshness.
- South - activity, clarity, simplicity,
- West - aging, questioning, wisdom
- North - maturity, acceptance, death.
- A static composition, usually symmetrical, appears to be at rest. It suggests power, firmness and permanence, but also prone to looking boring or unengaging
- A dynamic composition, usually asymmetrical, encourages the eye to explore. It suggests fun, movement, aggression, and excitement, but also prone to looking jarring or disorienting.
- To create a dynamic, yet, balanced composition, make a strong design decision that is unbalanced, and use counterpoints to balance the strong dynamic design. Counterpoints are an aesthetic rebuttal.
- Use color theory. Colors can be associated with seasons, or temperature.
- Cool colors tend to recede from the viewer.
- Warm colors appear closer to the viewer.
- Use complements to add balance.
- It is the dialogue and unity among the pieces, not the pieces themselves, that creates aesthetic success. Aesthetics imply harmonious design
- Asymmetrical balance demonstrates sophisticated thinking. It is difficult to nail asymmetrical balance.
- Most architectural forms can be classified as follows:
- Additive forms appear to have been assembled from individual pieces.
- Subtractive forms appear to have been carved from a whole form.
- Shaped forms appear to have been formed from a plastic material through applied force.
- Abstract forms are of uncertain origin.
- If you rotate or skew an aspect of a building, make it mean something.
- An object will feel more balanced or whole when its secondary articulation runs counter to its primary geometry (i.e., striating a rectangle parallel to the short side).
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Footnotes
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Note: This is a bit dubious. There’s no source that corroborates this claim. ↩