

If you have several equally important points to make, symmetrical may be best. Think about your objective and how best to get your message across. In all likelihood, you’ll want to stick to the first three types. As we’ve seen, there are five types of balance you can use in your designs: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, mosaic and discordant. Decide on the type of balance you want to use.
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Now that we know all about balance and its importance, let’s take a look at how to actually achieve it! Here are a few steps to help you apply balance to your designs: Return to Table of Contents How to apply balance in design Here’s an example of a comparison infographic that uses a simple symmetrical balance: In other words, each side is a mirror image of the other. With this type of balance, you could draw a line through the middle of your design and each side would be the same. This creates a more formal or classic feel. Symmetrical balance is when both sides of a composition have equal visual weight. There are several types of balance, including: Now, you may be wondering, “What types of balance can I use in my designs?” Return to Table of Contents How is balance applied in design?ĭefinition: check. But at the end of the day, a lack of balance causes a sense of tension, resulting in a design that’s not so visually appealing. This might include too much contrast, visual clutter, lack of alignment or blocks of text. Of course, in an unbalanced design, no such equilibrium exists.Ī lack of balance means that individual elements overpower one another and compete for attention, or dominate the page. It can be a good choice for more formal documents, or for simple designs where elements have equal importance, like in this example: This type of design looks and feels stable. That said, symmetrically balanced designs also have their time and place. (More on the different types of balance a little later on!) Often, an asymmetrical balance is the most visually satisfying solution. Rather, it simply means that no one element overpowers the design - everything works together to create a unified whole. A balanced design doesn’t necessarily mean every element is given equal weight. A well-balanced design is naturally pleasing to the eye and exudes a sense of equilibrium.īut don’t be fooled by the word “equilibrium”. It refers to the distribution and visual weight of elements in a composition.
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START CREATING FOR FREE Click to jump ahead: Read on for an introduction to this principle, including how to strike the perfect balance in your designs. And the more visually pleasing your visual communications are, the more oohs and ahhs you’ll get! With a basic overview of the topic, you’ll be able to apply balance with purpose and create a sense of equilibrium in your designs. But rest assured, you don’t have to be a master of the arts or a graphic designer to understand and make use of it. He knew exactly how to place his subjects on a canvas to achieve a desired effect.Ī half century later, balance is still a key principle in art and graphic design. Wyeth was a master of the design principle balance. There are accessibility tools available for checking that your designs have sufficient color contrast for accessibility purposes.One of the great artists of the 20th century, Andrew Wyeth, once said, “It’s all in how you arrange the thing… the careful balance of the design is the motion.” People with vision impairments can have a difficult time reading text on a screen that is too small or does not have sufficient color contrast. Sufficient contrast between elements, especially text and its background, is vital for creating an accessible design. The second important function of contrast is accessibility. A design where you can see different elements automatically has some level of contrast. A complete lack of contrast would result in a design that’s simply a single background color with no other visible elements - not exactly a functional design. First, it allows you to make elements stand out from one another. Color contrast is often the first thing people think of, but differences in the sizes of elements, their shape, or some other property also create contrast.Ĭontrast serves two very important functions.

Contrast can be achieved through color, shape, size, or similar properties of elements, and refers to the differences between them.
