Asymmetrical layouts are much more tricky to put together than symmetrical ones. You must have a good sense of balance to make them work.
And to understand balance, you must first understand the very thing that either throws it off or keeps it on: visual weight.
Visual Weight
While general weight is about pounds and ounces, visual weight has to do with how heavy something feels to our eyes. Part of it is the amount of attention certain visual qualities demand. Part of it has to do with our natural way of interpreting.
We naturally interpret larger items as heavier than smaller items. That’s the easy part. But for varying reasons, we tend to think of other visual qualities as heavier, and these have nothing to do with actual physical weight or size.
Here are just a few examples of the weight of different qualities:
- contrasting items are heavier than non-contrasting
- dark colors or tones are heavier than light colors or tones
- bold or saturated colors are heavier than light or duller colors
- complex shapes and textures are heavier than simple shapes and flat areas
You can use this knowledge to create balance on your pages. If you have an item that puts too much weight on one side, you can balance it with items on the other side that are heavy for different reasons.
This way you get a very interesting and dynamic layout.
Video Tutorials on Balance, Weight, and Asymmetry
I’ve made a video tutorial on how to place embellishments in order to balance an asymmetrical layout. I’ve also made a tutorial on how to take a layout that’s looking symmetrical and boring in its foundation stage, and spice it up with some asymmetry.
But how about building an asymmetrical foundation from the beginning? What are some different approaches you can take to create a balanced layout without resorting to symmetrical tactics?
The newest Paperclipping episode will give you five different approaches and they vary from one-page layouts to two-page layouts. If you’re not a Paperclipping Member you can view the video trailer by clicking below, and then enjoy the layouts you see here as examples.
If you like what you see, there are 170 more! Find out what you get when you join our membership by clicking here.
(By the way, anyone who is a member on Friday morning, 8am PST will get my brand new design course for free! It’s worth $55 and will not be free to Members after that time, so hurry quick)!
(Click on the layouts to see the journaling of the layouts).
(The left side of the page is a direct lift from Ali Edwards and a layout she shares in her Yesterday & Today Class. The right side is my own addition).
Tags: asymmetry, balance, Design, how to, principles, scrapbook