Design Principles: Compositional, Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Balance

design principles of balance

Proportion is the relative size of the design elements compared to each other. It comes organically once you’re done with your contrast and balance. Contrast is used to create an obvious difference between the objects of your design and highlight them as a result. On your composition, you can show contrast with contrasting colors, light and dark hues, small and big shapes, thin and thick fonts, and more. Symmetrical Balance is when design elements on the the left side of an image mirror the design elements on the right side, or the top mirrors the bottom of the composition. While consistency and repetition are potent design principles, they also risk visual fatigue.

What Does Balance Mean in Graphic Design?

design principles of balance

Even though most of the shapes here are symmetrical, we can still see some asymmetrical shapes, such as the birds, but are still classed as shapes. Shapes are two-dimensional and can range from simple organic shapes to one's more complex, like geometric shapes. The points in this image form the start and end of all the lines, including the mountains, clouds, and the moon. Variety gives the viewer's eye exciting new elements to explore as they move through the composition. Variety refers to incorporating visual differences and contrasts within a composition to create interest for the viewer. Rhythm feels more organic and natural than rigid repetition or pattern—The variations add visual interest while the recurrence provides cohesion.

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Design principles are guidelines, biases and design considerations that designers apply with discretion. Symmetrical balance occurs when your composition has the same visual weight on each side of an axis. Imagine perfect mirror images looking at each other around a central axis. There’s no one right way to communicate that two elements are similar or different, for example. You don’t need to follow any of these principles, although you should understand them and have a reason for breaking them. The column in the image is slightly off center, and it anchors the composition with a strong vertical line — it’s an object we know weighs a lot.

Emphasis

But what drives a person’s attention when they see your design? Hierarchy is a principle of design that establishes the most important and least important aspects of any design. You likely want to direct how your audience consumes the content you create. This natural progression of one’s eyes, from one object to another, can be controlled by the design of the content. For any design to have a dynamic look, it is essential to have well-contrasted elements. The nature of design is such that each artist has the freedom of expression.

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Mosaic Balance

As a reminder, below are definitions for visual weight and visual direction, although I’ll refer you back to the fourth post in this series for more details. Meet Touch Design for Mobile Interfaces, Steven Hoober’s brand-new guide on designing for mobile with proven, universal, human-centric guidelines. 400 pages, jam-packed with in-depth user research and best practices. Discordant balance (also called off-balance!) is when elements aren’t balanced at all. This can make viewers uncomfortable and stop them in their tracks.

You’ve likely seen this famous print before, which is known as the The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This iconic artwork not only showcases the power and beauty of nature but also effectively promotes the design principle of movement through its composition and visual elements. There is no fixed number of design principles that a designer or marketer needs to know.

The 12 Principles Of Design Explained: Complete Guide + Uses

One big challenge to achieving visual balance in web design is the fold. You may design a layout that is perfectly balanced in the initial view, but when the reader scrolls the page, it can come out of balance. Finding the center of the design and mirroring the weight on each side with various techniques will keep your design from being boring.

The importance of finding the right balance in design cannot be understated. It doesn’t matter how amazing a design concept may be or how vibrant the colors used. So, the key to creating amazing marketing creatives that engage customers is striking the right amount of balance. Know where to use what kind of balance and you are halfway to mastering all of your design projects. To make a design really stand out, designers might find it easier to use textures. But to do this without losing out on the overall balance they tend to have a large area of solid color or smooth texture.

The element's position on the page dictates how balanced the page looks. The most challenging aspect to attaining visual balance in graphic design is the fold. You may initially create a perfectly balanced layout, but it appears off-balance as the reader scrolls down the page. Lines are strokes connecting two points, and the most basic element of visual design.

Any good designer knows that balance in a design counts for a lot. If you look at a design composition and feel that something is off kilter, chances are that there isn’t balance amongst the elements. As they each have different visual weights, how they are placed is vital. In each of these examples, we can see how slight changes to the size, color, contrast, or density can affect the visual weight of an element on your page.

design principles of balance

While some of its elements might be focal points and attract your eye, no one area of the composition draws your eye so much that you can’t see the other areas. If you’ve been struggling to create visually pleasing designs, it could be that they’re lacking in this department. Thankfully, you don’t have to be an expert to apply this principle to your next project.

Contrast symmetry and asymmetry in your composition to make elements get more attention. Contrast refers to the deliberate juxtaposition of elements in a design. When used effectively, contrast draws attention to the differences between elements, making them stand out and adding visual interest to the design. For example, a large shape can be balanced out by a smaller one of a complementary shape or color.

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Unless this is the case, designers meticulously maintain balance in their designs as this is what most viewers prefer. Balance in UI design is important to achieve a sense unity in your overall design. A lack of balance can result in visual tension, which should be avoided in most cases.

You’ll also learn how to effectively use visual design elements and principles by deconstructing several well-known designs. The elements of visual design — line, shape, negative/white space, volume, value, colour and texture — describe the building blocks of a product’s aesthetics. On the other hand, the principles of design tell us how these elements can and should go together for the best results. Many of the principles below are closely related and complement one another. Successful graphic designers know that mastering the visual concept of balance is the key to effective communication.

In their natural forms, patterns express themselves everywhere we look. From consistencies in situations to the way, nature creates beautiful mosaics on the sand and barks of trees. Designers employ different styles to ensure they achieve the desired movement of visual information in the eyes and minds of customers taking in that information. Factors like the hierarchy of various objects (texts and visual elements), color styles, and repetition can be used innovatively to control the movement of your customer’s eyes. Or is everything concentrated on one corner of the design, leaving the other end vacant with ample negative space? Balance the elements within your designs to give them a pleasing appearance.

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