Kinetic Designing

by Fay Edgecombe

‘Flair’ Definition - Designs in which movement or the illusion of movement is dominant.

There are some styles of design that are more fascinating than others and maybe a Kinetic design is one of those, especially if an Op artist is the inspiration?

What does Kinetic mean?
It means pertaining to movement, coming from the Greek word kinetikos and is an art form also called Op or Optical Art.

Len Lye is New Zealand’s own renowned kinetic artist/sculptor.

Alexander Calder was an American kinetic sculptor who in his day created some amazing mobiles.

Many colours can be used in a painting, but more illusion and a better effect is gained by using only black and white. This is because of the extreme contrast. It is easy to become mesmerised by the hypnotic regularity of patterns.

From the Dublin WAFA Show. Part section a design show, showing kinetic pattern.

To be considered a kinetic floral design, the eye needs to be pulled around the design or move through it with the use of optical illusion.
When floral designing the movement is generally more gentle than in a painting because plant material is being added to make it three-dimensional. However, with kinetic designing it is important to avoid slowing down the eye movement.

Many styles of design can be kinetic where the illusion of movement is dominant. For example, Abstract, Pavé, Sculpture, Mobile, Stamobile, Stabile, are just a few.

In Floral Art we can use the artists named below as inspiration for our floral designing...

By Rae Baxter and Rhonda Hall