50 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

PROPORTION

The principle of proportion underlies all other principles. It
states that the relations between parts of the same thing or between
different things of the same group should be satisfying. It deals
with relationships in size, shape, color, light, texture, and pattern.
Its most prominent application in home planning and home furnish-
ing, however, is to the relationships of areas.

The appearance of the exterior of a house is due primarily to its
proportions, first the total mass, which depends on the height in
relation to the length, then the proportions of roof, walls, and
foundation, and finally the relationship of doors, windows, and
other elements that must be organized into a unified whole. The
shapes of rooms and of every article of home furnishing should
be judged by their proportions. The heights of flower arrange-
ments and the shapes of flower beds are also problems in propor-
tion. The ability to recognize fine proportion is an invaluable
asset to the home maker.

The figures above show the effect of dividing an area so as to
produce interesting and uninteresting proportions, In A and B
the divisions are too simple to form interesting areas, although B
is much better than A, In C the spaces are too unlike to be related
by the mind* In D the dividing line is placed somewhere between
one-half and one-third of the length of the rectangle, thereby de-
termining areas that are pleasantly related because they are enough
alike to be compared easily yet different enough to arouse interest.