7 Principals of Design The principles of design describe the ways that artists use the elements of art in a work of art or an image that is captured. Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. ... Movement is the path the viewer's eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas.

Balance Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side; in asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

Movement Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art.

Pattern/Rhythm Life is full of patterns. It is all part of our cosmic existence, for without patterns our lives would be utter chaos. Most patterns we don't recognize or we overlook because of our busy, routine-driven, daily lives. Two techniques come into practice while working with patterns; you can emphasise the pattern, or you can break it: Emphasising a pattern can accentuate a sense of size and expansion. The idea is to zoom in onto the pattern and fill the frame with it. Emphasized pattern can include faces amongst a crowd, a line of homogenous plants, bricks of a wall, etc Breaking a pattern is all about finding an object that disrupts the continuous flow of a pattern. It can be an object that is in clear contrast with the rest of the objects; be it in shape, color, or even texture. You might need to handle your composition with extra care while trying to render a broken pattern, and the rule of thirds can come in handy in such situations. For example, you can place your "odd" object along one of the thirds or on one of their intersecting points. You can also play with your depth of field. Have the contrasting item in sharp focus and the items around it fading slowly into the out-of-focus. Broken patterns can be found naturally, or some situations can be manipulated to disrupt readily existing patterns.

Unity Unity is taking the parts of a piece of art and unifying them in to something better as a whole. Composition is a great way to do this. This image could be separated in to each part as its own piece, but together they become a unified composition.

Contrast

Emphasis Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc. Emphasis is defined as an area or object within the artwork that draws attention and becomes a focal point. Subordination is defined as minimizing or toning down other compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal point.

Scale and proportion in art are both concerned with size Scale and proportion in art are both concerned with size. ...Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object). We often think of porportions in terms of size relationships within the human body. NOW DON’T GET THIS CONFUSED WITH PERSPECTIVE! Proportion

Elements of design are the most basic visual components of any composition. Understanding the elements of design, how they affect and complement each other, and what messages they convey is the way to step up with your photographic images and create stunning work that reaches out to people's hearts and souls. These are the building blocks for creating your own work of art. Putting these elements together, and knowing how/when to use them will make your photos far more effective and purposeful. These elements are all around us, we just need to train our eyes to see and capture them, and our minds and souls to translate them into conveying our own emotions and ideas. Then, and only then, will our work become eye-catching and dramatic. CONCLUSION Source: http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/6-elements-of-design-for-striking-photographs--photo-2574