Flowers are one of the best places to look for design lessons. Without speaking a word, nature understands the way color, balance and symmetry work to control the eye.
Susan says,”This iris is a masterful lesson on how to direct the viewers eye. Every element of this flower serves to support its purpose: is to direct the bee to the pollen that is needed to insure the future of the flower. Everything leads right to the central shoot into the heart of the flower: the color, the symmetry, the lines. What a lesson this flower contains for anyone wanting to understand how to direct a viewer to the central or most important message.”
Lucia says, “I like Susan’s detailed descriptions of the intricacies of the design that can be found in nature. Another way to approach this photo is to look at it as a whole. In doing that, we see other design elements. For instance, the iris is off-center creating nice tension and more interest than if it were smack in the middle of the frame. Also, the purple flower stands out from the contrasting green background, which is made more intense by the blurriness created with a shallow depth of field. I feel these larger elements have as much an effect on directing the viewer as Susan’s more precise details.”
How does this image influence your own understanding of the value of good design?
