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UnitySimplicity

Unity refers to how different elements of an artwork or design work come together and create a sense of wholeness. It can be achieved through proximity, simplicity, repetition and continuation.

Part of Art and DesignPrinciples of design

Simplicity

Limiting the range of colours, materials, textures, lines or other elements in a piece will make a composition look more unified. It will appear simpler and easier to read as one work.

Black chiffon cape, Coco Chanel, c.1920s, Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
Black chiffon cape, Coco Chanel, c.1920s, Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

This Coco Chanel cape from the 1920s is made of and is trimmed with feathers. The two materials have contrasting textures but are united because they are both black. The result is a simple and elegant design.

Black chiffon cape, Coco Chanel, c.1920s, Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
Black chiffon cape, Coco Chanel, c.1920s, Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
Three Figures from The Family of Man, Snape Maltings, Suffolk, Barbara Hepworth, c.1970, bronze, The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, Cambs. U.K. / Bridgeman Images
Three Figures from The Family of Man, Snape Maltings, Suffolk, Barbara Hepworth, c.1970, bronze, The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, Cambs. U.K. / Bridgeman Images

This group, called Three Figures, is from a larger group called The Family of Man by Barbara Hepworth (1970). Although the three forms are separate from each other Hepworth has created unity between them through simplicity. Each figure:

  • is made from bronze
  • has the same colour and texture
  • is made from four forms stacked on top of each other
  • is a similar height to the other figures
  • shows a similar language of forms featuring holes and rounded edges and corners
Young and English, Richard Loftus, 1968, Paco Rabanne bolero, and Loftus watches and glasses, AGIP / Bridgeman Images
Young and English, Richard Loftus, 1968, Paco Rabanne bolero, and Loftus watches and glasses, AGIP / Bridgeman Images

This fashion photograph for Paco Rabane, (Richard Loftus, 1968) has a sense of unity due to the use of circles within the dress, glasses and the watches.

Young and English, Richard Loftus, 1968, Paco Rabanne bolero, and Loftus watches and glasses, AGIP / Bridgeman Images
Young and English, Richard Loftus, 1968, Paco Rabanne bolero, and Loftus watches and glasses, AGIP / Bridgeman Images
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