The Five Key Elements to Jewelry Designing

What is the visual message that your jewelry is sending? There are five components a designer must consider when making the design.

1. Balance

The visual distribution of material, color, texture and space. The idea is that the weights should be similar across the piece in order to make the design feel stable and symmetrical.

Asymmetrical designs incorporate an informal balance, this is done with the piece by creating a contrast of dark versus light. This is a more challenging design to make visually appealing but can be successfully done. 

Consider the example of one of the finalists of our inaugural competition Anna Popoyvch and 'Save Our Planet'. While their are two contrasting elements in the design, the piece maintains balance by keeping the weights equally distributed and maintaining symmetry.

2. Emphasis

Emphasis refers to the focal point of the design. It is the dominant factor of the piece which is present to capture the viewers attention. The artist can do this by contrasting the point of emphasis with other areas by altering shape, size or texture.

3. Movement

Movement refers to the path our eyes follow in a particular piece of jewelry. A jewelry artist can control the movement of the eye by arranging elements within a piece via a subtle pattern.

Movement is commonly achieved through the use of repetition, rhythm and action. The eye will follow repeating patterns with color and edges. A graduation of sizes as seen in Sameena Anjum's 'Curl' provides a crescendo for the viewers.

In this piece we can also see how movement can be literally displayed by having 'loose' pieces that would be lighter and hence provide activity from the piece. 

 4. Proportion

Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all the elements (color, size, amount) in a particular jewelry piece relate well with each other. Proportion is all about the relationship of one part of the design to another or one area to the whole. 

To keep a balanced proportion within the piece, it would be useful to group common elements across the piece via a common feature such color, material etc. Maria Eugenia's 'Splash' design demonstrates a very balanced proportion across the piece whilst using a variation of colors. 

5. Harmony and unity

Harmony refers to how the different elements in a piece of jewelry relate to and complement each other. Harmony is achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the work, giving an effortless appeal to the design.

The sense of unity can be created when all the features of the design are supporting each other and providing the balance. 'Tree is Life' by Rainier Arandia is a piece which balances the combination of different shapes, colors and textures to provide one harmonious design.

Source: “Principles of Design for Jewelry-Making Inspiration”