Symmetry in design refers to the balanced arrangement of elements on either side of a central axis or point. It is a fundamental principle that has been widely used in various forms of art, architecture, and graphic design. Symmetry can create a sense of harmony, order, and visual stability.
In ancient temples which were created many thousand years ago in India, Symmetrical designs can be seen. This blog post includes photos of designs from the temple at Khajuraho in India.
Bilateral symmetry, or reflection symmetry, is when a visual element is reflected or mirrored across an axis. When Exact symmetry is created, there is chance of creating design that is less interesting. Hence artist made symmetrical design here, except he added one design at the element at the bottom, that is not symmetrical.
Here, symmetrical design is arranged, inside the circular frame Above image). Again , at the bottom, there is non symmetrical design element at the bottom. At the bottom, in the middle, It would have been symmetrical design, but artist flipped the curve horizontally to made it asymmetrical. So it seems like, there was trend to include small asymmetrical element in the design in symmetrical design.
Here design is complex, made with curves. When it is flipped on the other side, it must be hard to repeat it. Yet it is done skillfully. This design is unique as both the symmetrical sides are not touching in the middle. There is blank space in-between them.
Rotational symmetry, or radial symmetry, occurs when a visual element is rotated around a central point. This is interior view of the ceiling at the temple in Khajuraho, India. In every ancient temple, such circular designs are at the ceiling. This is perfect example of Rotational symmetry. Here in this case (above image), those designs near to the center are small, compared to those away from the center. So here one more design principle can be seen. Incremental change is used in many modern designs. In case of ancient temple ceiling, Artist has mixed incremental change with rotational symmetry. Such arrangement can be seen in case of flowers. Ancient artist grasped that idea well, and used here in ceiling design.
This is another example of Rotational symmetry. Artist created one complex shape and rotated the copies of it around the center. What makes this design exceptional and outstanding? Even If design is closely observed, it is hard to figure out where the curve starts and where it ends. All the curves are blended very well, yet one can see four design elements at four directions – Left, Right, Top and bottom. There is also variation in case of thickness of those curves. In design world, it is called ‘width profile’. Artist used variety of width profiles at various points. The Circular area is also very well utilized.
In this blog post , we have seen glimpse of the indian art which was made many thousand years ago. Each sculpture gave new insight about how to create design. In upcoming series, there will be more blog posts on this topic. Stay tuned!
If you have suggestions, questions regarding design of temple architecture, feel free to put that on comment section. We will try our best to reply!
