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Scale

Author: Sophia
what's covered
In this lesson, you will learn about the principle of scale as well as the use of proportion in visual design. Specifically, this lesson will cover:

Table of Contents

1. Defining Scale

Scale is a design principle that refers to the size of an element.

This simple principle is actually really important because it can drastically affect the perception of the design, photo, or other visual work.

Below are two different images of the same cat.

Small Cat Large Cat

You'll notice that in the second photo, the cat is rather large. Scale is being used to add a bit of dramatic effect to this photo, or to create a focal point to this image.

term to know
Scale
A design principle that refers to the size of an element.


2. Proportion

Scale goes hand in hand with proportion, which is the ratio of one size of an element to another.

Proportion is needed to help identify the scale of an element by allowing the viewer to compare multiple elements in a design. For instance, you could compare the size of a tree to the size of a car in order to establish how large one or the other is.

Take a look at the example images below.

Small Butterfly Large Butterfly

You can see from this example that scale and proportion directly affect our perception of the size of both the butterfly and the flower in relation to one another.

Now look at the following images.

Short Cypress Long Cypress

The scale of the cypress in proportion to the mansion will impact just how extravagant the mansion actually is. Alternately, the size of the mansion is diminished when the scale of the cypress is a lot larger in proportion to the mansion.

term to know
Proportion
The ratio of one size of an element to another.

summary
In this lesson, you learned to define scale as a principle that can impact how large something appears in a design. You also learned that scale is very closely related to proportion, which helps a viewer determine the size of something based on the size of something else.

Keep up the learning and have a great day!

Source: SOURCE: THIS WORK IS ADAPTED FROM SOPHIA AUTHOR MARIO E. HERNANDEZ

Terms to Know
Proportion

The ratio of one size of an element to another.

Scale

A design principle that refers to the size of an element.