Vintage Flock: the Info Repository

An architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of abuilding. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton (arkhi-, chief +tekton, builder), i.e. chief builder. A looser usage of Architect is: the translator of the building user's requirements of and from a building into an inhabitable environment. Moreover, the words architect and architecture are used in the disciplines of engineering, e.g. computer software architect; however, in some of the world's jurisdictions, the professional and commercial uses of these etymologic variants, are legally protected from such loose denotations.
In systems engineering, the systems architect is the high-level designer of a system to be implemented. They establish the basic structure of the system, defining the core design features that are hard to change later. They provide the vision for where the system needs to go and strive to maintain its integrity as it evolves.

In systems engineering, the systems architect is responsible for:

• Interfacing with the user(s) and sponsor(s) and all other stakeholders in order to determine their (evolving) needs.
  
• Generating the highest level of system requirements, based on the user's needs and other constraints such as cost and schedule.
  
• Ensuring that this set of high level requirements is consistent, complete, correct, and operationally defined.
  
• Performing cost-benefit analyses to determine whether requirements are best met by manual, software, or hardware functions; making maximum use of commercial off-the-shelf or already developed components.
  
• Developing partitioning algorithms (and other processes) to allocate all present and foreseeable requirements into discrete partitions such that a minimum of communications is needed among partitions, and between the user and the system.
  
• Partitioning large systems into (successive layers of) subsystems and components each of which can be handled by a single engineer or team of engineers or subordinate architect.
  
• Interfacing with the design and implementation engineers, or subordinate architects, so that any problems arising during design or implementation can be resolved in accordance with the fundamental architectural concepts, and user needs and constraints.
  
• Ensuring that a maximally robust architecture is developed.
  
• Generating a set of acceptance test requirements, together with the designers, test engineers, and the user, which determine that all of the high level requirements have been met, especially for the computer-human-interface.
  
• Generating products such as sketches, models, an early user guide, and prototypes to keep the user and the engineers constantly up to date and in agreement on the system to be provided as it is evolving.
  
• Ensuring that all architectural products and products with architectural input are maintained in the most current state and never allowed to become obsolete.
  

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_architect)

The Principles of Composition & Design

UNITY - is the quality of cohesion that makes an artwork feel complete and finished. Artists achieve unity by using consistent methods and concepts to reveal the meaning, purpose, and/or the intention of their artwork. Distinctive ways of creating unity are often identified as artistic styles.

BALANCE - refers to the distribution of visual weight in a work of art. "Empty" areas should not appear to be unfinished. Instead, they should represent void, or negative space. Likewise, positive shapes and forms should not appear to be too crowded, heavy, or "busy." Balanced art may suggest motion, but it should not appear to be so unstable as if to suggest it is about to fall over or hang crookedly.

MOVEMENT - Visual movement is used by artists to direct the scanning behavior of the eye along a circuit or path within an artwork. This circuit leads the viewer to areas of visual interest, focus, and/or emphasis. Motion is suggested by the Action Line of the subject in a picture. The action line moves in the apparent direction that the subject is moving or looking.

RHYTHM - is the sequencing or repetition of visual movement presented by the composition of visual elements: colors, shapes, lines, values, forms, spaces, and textures. Variation and contrast keep rhythm interesting and dynamic.
FOCUS (Emphasis) - is the emphasized form or area which draws attention and reveals the subject, central idea, or theme of an image. Emphasis is often achieved by using rhythm and movement to lead the eye to an element that is unique, or has a contrasting value, shapes, sizes, or colors. Focus and contrast are the same principles as emphasis and variety. In photography, selective focus can be optically achieved with a lens.

CONTRAST - is the organized interplay of visual differences which provides variety and stimulates visual movement. Contrast refreshes the eye and enables the viewer to better perceive and evaluate the relationships between the visual elements.

PATTERN - is a system of elements which creates a recognizable sequence of repetition. Pattern may also be thought of as the underlying structure, concept, or plan that organizes the artwork.

PROPORTION - refers to relationships of size and form between the WHOLE and it's parts. Although proportion can often be mathematically measured and described, it can also be compared to one's expectations of natural or ideal form. Proportion is usually related to size and scale. Proportion often influences the emphasis of an image, and our sense of space.