Design With Us Fridays

Acheiving balance on a layout can be one of the most difficult things for a new scrapbooker or even for the most seasoned scrapbooker having a scrappers' block. To obtain a visually pleasing layout, you must have a balanced layout. This balance is obtained by recognizing that every item on each page has a "weight". We could learn a few tricks from the advertising world while thinking about the "weight" of items on our pages.
When looking at these advertisements you can see they are "weighted" in different ways.
The Mcdonalds' ad is weighted with color against the white background so all that you see is the container of french fries. The Martex blanket ad is weighted in a linear manner which helps you follow the ad from beginning to end or in this instance top to bottom. The Burger King ad is also a color weighted ad but in this instance you see nothing but the burger against the dark background.

To end, I would like you to keep the following techniques in mind to help you acheive balance on your layouts. Always remember that any color you add has a visual weight with a dark color weighing more than a light color. Remember that embellishments have a weight with larger items weighing more than smaller ones. When creating a two page layout, try to balance each side of the page. Each side of the layout should weigh the same. Try your best to not leave empty space on a layout. Not in the sense of white space, which can at times be very visually pleasing. But you can fill empty spots with a brad or two or some other medium; be it paper of fibre. These techniques will help you achieve the balance on your layouts and eqully distribute the weight across your layouts.