Principles of Design: Harmony

"I've come to realize that where harmony is concerned, more can be achieved with less color." ~ Scott L. Christensen

Harmony is a "Principle of Design" where consistency of the elements in an image creates a sensation of peace.  Sometimes this is referred to as unity.

Color harmony is created by using similar colors.  

Warm colors are all similar, so they will create a picture that is harmonious.  Cool colors are also all similar so they will create a picture that is full of harmony.  Analogous colors (next to each other on the color wheel) will create a sense of color harmony.  Pastel colors or colors that have been consistently diluted can be harmonious.

Sometimes an artist will mix in one color (the mother color), with all of the other colors in the image.  The mother color creates a sense of unity in the image that is harmonious. The following image used a grey-ish pink mixed in with all of the other colors to help create color harmony.

"Yellow House, Snowfall" by Michael Chesley Johnson

Disharmony of color is created when there are too many different colors in an image. The website below, www.jamilin.com, is full of disharmony. The wide variety of colors completely lacks a sense of cohesion.

Harmony and disharmony is not limited to color.  Harmony can refer to anything where an image is consistent in terms of size, shape and etc. Disharmony can refer to anything in an image that is inconsistent in terms of size, shape and etc.