Random Design and Natural Design
I was looking at a bunch of artwork the other day, and I noticed that I tend to lean toward a certain trend. While I like Modern and minimalist artwork, I really tend to lean towards artwork that has a touch of random or asymmetry. There is something so inviting about artwork that has a certain level of disorder to it. Don’t get me wrong, order, purpose and meaning in art and design matters a great deal, but having elements that seem to be random or natural as supporting elements really seem to be much more appealing to the eye. Think about all of those web sites and blogs out there that use random design elements in the background, or there are icons or objects spread about that are topic related, but essentially seem to be placed in no real structure. This, combined with a structured layout, such as a grid system for the different areas and sections for a blog, creates a really interesting and balanced harmony in design. Some of the best landscape artwork that I have seen is created with foliage and leaves that are done in a random pattern with their brush. I don’t know of many artists that meticulously paint every single leaf on hundreds of trees separately. They usually have a tapping technique that they use with their brush to give the effect of leaves.
Design: Setting Your Creativity Free
With this being said, do all designs have a touch of random or freedom to them? Not necessarily. Some designs require more structure and order, but with that structure and order in place, a great way to make something stand out is for it to break that order, causing a disruption in the overall flow. Formally trained design students might remember this element as what is called a Gestalt principle. One of those principles is where you have a certain level of order, such as a bunch of items that are the same, and then somewhere in one of the higher visual zones of the design (for example, the rule of thirds) that pattern is broken. This idea of breaking the pattern calls extra attention to the focal point of your design.
A random and flowing element really adds a natural feel to a design or piece of artwork. Why does this appeal to us so much? Is it a matter of psychology, and ideas of perfection bother us on a psychological level, or is it simply a matter of being visually appealing? It might be a matter of dealing with the knowledge that we aren’t perfect, and that everything has its flaws. With realizing this, something that looks perfect doesn’t seem natural. This may explain why the grungy or decayed look is so popular, because imperfection is seen as beautiful, because we embrace our own imperfections. Is there science behind this, or is it a matter of aesthetics?
A Little Psychology to Put Things in Perspective
People really don’t like being controlled. Almost every aspect of our life is controlled, whether we like it or not. We have to get up and go to a job every day, whether we are tired, bored, or just not in the mood. We have to pay taxes on everything, which is beyond our control. There are laws that we have to follow, which govern us on a daily basis. We rarely get to do whatever we want. The majority of people know what to expect throughout their day. They get up, commute to work, work all day, and then go home. They spend time with their friends or families, and then go to bed, only to start the same cycle all over again the next day. Everything throughout our lives is governed by a box, a rule, or a reason. That is why random elements in art and design work so well. It is our chance to experience the uncontrolled and the unexpected. It’s our chance to experience something that isn’t sterile and refined to death. Random patterns and textures, and random experiences allow us to escape the monotony and go on a visual and intellectual journey. We don’t want to look at a design and know what is there before we look at it, a big part of us wants to look at a design and see something or experience something unexpected. That is where the aspect of random design shines.
Design With a Sense of Random
Designs that contain random elements connect on a personal level with clients. Adding a randomized texture element to the background of your website will most likely be more appealing to the majority of users than a plain color. Think about another popular trend that is used in a lot of new Photographer portfolio sites. Many Photographers are having their sites set up so that their backgrounds cycle through random images in their portfolio. The images are set to fill the browser and scale with the browser size. They don’t even have a background color specified. Then, the content is overlaid on top of that with drop shadow effects to add dimension.
Other Examples of Random Design
Some designs use random pattern design to look more appealing. Think about how many websites you have seem with a solid color, but it has a noise pattern applied to it to add a subtle texture. That effect is random, not uniform and is usually generated in Photoshop.
People seem to like random in their user experiences as well. Think of how many design blogs you know have a section at the end of their articles that says “You might also like” and a list of related posts. Most of those are randomly generated based on related topics. On this site, I have a random popup window that slides up on the bottom right side that suggests a couple of completely random articles that you might like. Believe it or not, since I installed that plugin, more people are visiting more than one page when they come. I talk about a wide variety of topics on here, and the random popup suggests topics that people weren’t necessarily looking for, but found interesting anyway. Sometimes it is more about the journey in learning and obtaining information than it is the destination.
The masonry website design has become popular lately as well. Pinterest is a perfect example, with content stacked and arranged in the order it is received. Pinterest sets images to be a max width of a certain amount, while the height can be any number. This allows the elements to be completely random, while still looking consistent.
Embrace Random Design
Sometimes you just have to let things flow. Random design is built upon this principle. It is much easier to create random design and artwork now that Photoshop allows you to create your own custom brushes. There are so many filters and effects that you can create with design software. Balancing structure with random, free flowing elements creates an experience that is fun to explore, without being restricted. Random design is also about unity. Completely random is chaotic, but if you guide random design, it can really be an amazing piece of work.
Do you incorporate random design elements in your work? Do you use things like ornaments and textures to make your work unique?
