Universal Principles of Design

Balance is not something you find. Its something you create – Jana Kingsford

In life, balance is important everywhere. No one area or aspect should outweigh the other. The similar is in case of a composition. A balanced composition is one in which everything just feels right. It feels calm and healthy. No area garners too much or too little attention. That’s the beauty of balance.

When you are balancing a composition, you need to make sure that the positive and negative elements are placed in such a way that they complement each other if they don’t go together the design will be unbalanced. The individual parts should contribute to the whole rather than becoming a whole themselves.

Physical and visual balance

We all have played on a seesaw as were kids. We just needed to sit and balance. And if the fat kid from the class sat on the other side, we knew we are going to fall. It required equality on both ends.

Maintaining a visual balance is very similar to this. Just the physical weights and directions get replaced by visual ones. For your perusal, I am giving the definition of visual weight and visual direction below:

Visual weight- how much is the viewer attracted by the different elements on the page is measured by visual weight.

Visual direction- it is the direction in which an element should be moving if given a chance to move according to the forces acting upon it.

Importance of Visual Balance

People don’t like to move out of their comfort zone. Hence an unbalanced visual seems uncomfortable to the user. It will lose the user’s interest failing to provide the desirable effect expected out of it

Moreover, an unbalance will lead to disinterest towards certain areas which may contain important information required to understand the meaning of the composition. The data that you actually want the customer to reach will be lost in this translation. Hence having a visual balance is very important.

Remember, you don’t use instruments weights or machines to measure forces and balance. It is only your eyes which are the true parameter of balance.

The four types of balance

Following are the four types of visual balance-

1.   Symmetrical balance

Symmetrical balance occurs when there are equal visual weights on equal sides of the structure with a balancing element in the center. It makes the composition elegant and classy. However, the downside is that it is often regarded as plain and boring. It gets predictive and doesn’t have that touch of modernity. There are primarily three types of symmetry:

Reflection symmetry- This is literally like looking into the mirror. There is usually one center line which acts as the dividing point for the symmetry, quite just like your mirror.

Rotational symmetry- Also known as radial symmetry, it occurs when everything rotates around a common center. The best example of this could be the driving wheel of a car or the spinning wheel.

Translational symmetry- Also known as crystallographic symmetry, it occurs when elements are repeated over different locations in space. An ideal example in this case would be repeating fence posts. You can create rhythm, speed and dynamic action all through translation symmetry.

 2.   Asymmetrical balance

Asymmetrical balance is the consequence of unequal weights on both the sides of the composition.one side could be superior to another, still maintaining that level.

Asymmetrical balance induces a sense of vitality and energy. It brings in a new perspective. However, the relationship between the elements is much more complex as compared to the symmetrical balance.

Space around asymmetrical forms is more active. Unpredictable patterns are created, and overall you have more freedom of expression with asymmetry than with symmetry. The trade-off is that it’s harder to achieve.

Much in the same way that similarity and contrast work together, you can combine symmetry and asymmetry to good effect. Balance symmetrical forms in an asymmetrical way, or balance asymmetrical forms symmetrically.

Break up symmetrical forms with a random mark to add interest. Contrast symmetry and asymmetry in your composition to make elements get more attention.

3.   Radial balance

Radial balance consists of a focal point with objects radiating from one single point.it can very much be depicted as rays of sunlight emerging from the center. Since the objects arise from center, it is the main point of focus

4.   Mosaic balance

Also known as crystallographic balance its quite an irony in itself. This balance emerges from chaos. There is no focal point and all the elements are spread into the space, still creating a perfect harmony among them.

Gestalt principles

The simplicity of symmetrical forms is predicted by the Law of Prägnanz. Gestalt principles such as focal points and similarity contribute to visual weight.

Principles such as continuation, common fate and parallelism impart visual direction. I also mentioned that symmetrical forms are more likely to be seen as figure rather than ground.

I hope this idea that the principles of gestalt lead to many of the design principles that guide us has become clearer. The design principles we follow didn’t arise out of thin air; they emerged from the psychology of the way we perceive our visual environment.

                                                                                                                      

Written by - Mehak Sachdeva