HOW CAN WE CREATE AN EFFECTIVE VISUAL LANGUAGE?

According to the writers from “MasterClass”, they said that a good sentence must be a complete sentence with a subject, verb and noun. A good sentence is able to invoke a certain mood. A good sentence must be able to paint a picture for the readers to have an idea what the story is about. A good sentence must have a flow for the readers to understand without the need to re-read the sentences. Likewise, a good piece of artwork must be able to show the intent or give an idea of what the artwork is about to the viewers. Therefore, apart from using elements of art to create an artwork, it is important to apply principle of arts to give the intent of the artwork. The principle of arts comprises of pattern, balance, emphasis, contrast, harmony, variety, movement, proportion and scale.


Pattern is the organization of elements of art in repeated form or sequence.

Balance is the arrangement of the elements of art within the composition of the artwork.

Emphasis is to create an effect that draws the viewers to focus in a particular area within the composition of the artwork.

Contrast is to show different effects in the artwork, for example, black versus white or thick versus thin.

Harmony is to arrange the elements of art to enable the viewers to follow through the composition of the artwork comfortably.

Variety is to display contrast, differences and change within the composition of the artwork.

Proportion is to show the relationship between the objects within the composition of the painting.

Scale is to show a comparison between 2 or more objects in terms of size, and colours.  

Name: Kay Kok Chung Oi, Ed.D

Visual artist, art educator and researcher

Email: cokuan@googlemail.com