The importance of applying Fractal Principles to Compositional Strategies for the Static and Moving Image

While there is evidence in art and design of the application of fractal principles or tenets (e.g., self-similarity, recursion and iteration), their use is usually reserved for critique after the work has been produced. By contrast, this paper proposes that the tenets of fractal form be explored at the stages of compositional development, both as a proportional principle and as a strategy for applying random dynamics. This paper is informed by prior participant studies that evaluate viewers’ psychological responses to fractal images to build methods for using fractal proportion and dynamics in composition. From an educational perspective, the argued imperatives are for a set of design principles in terms of the aesthetics of fractals and their relationships to image and audience. This is to be informed and supported by ongoing studies in the fields of mathematics and neuropsychology. The growing interdisciplinary activity that seeks to understand and apply fractals in aesthetic terms leads to the important discussion of fractals in design education. This paper proposes that fractal principles be instated as part of the grammar of design for education.