Gymnastics

[April]

Balance, balance, balance. In the spirit of gymnastics, lets work on balance.

1. Participate in this thread and discuss the importance of design balance.
   
2. Find a picture you have taken that is unbalanced. Crop the picture and make it look balanced. Post the original picture as well as the balanced crop version. A balanced picture shouldn't always be centered. Many pictures look much better when you apply the rule of thirds.
   
3. Create a balanced layout and give us a link to your layout or repost it here.

This challenge has taken me a long time because I wanted to write up an inspiring tutorial or lesson on design balance. I just can't express myself the way I want so I decided to switch gears. Will you share some ideas on design balance with us? I think we can get a neat conversation going here.

I moved all of the posts that were in this thread before I posted this challenge so it will be easier for everyone to follow this discussion. You can find and continue the conversation in those posts here.

[Shellie]

Balance. There are three kinds of balance if I remember correctly. Symmetrical, Asymmetrical and Radial.

Symmetrical balance is mirror image balance.

Asymmetrical balance is when several smaller items on one side are balanced by a large item on the other side, or smaller items are placed further away from the center than larger items.

Radial balance, where all elements radiate out from a center point in a circular fashion.

[April]

Perfect Shellie! Thanks for posting that.

So, would you say applying the rule of thirds would fall under asymmetrical balance?

[Shellie]

I would say yes.

I prefer asymmetrical, myself. In my home decorating I like to be more asymmetrical.

[Kelli West]

I'm excited for this. It's for sure going to be a challenge for me. Thank you April for pushing me to grow!

[digimad]

I've learned that it is visual interest that you are balancing in design. Different colors, shapes and sizes create different degrees of interest. The trick is to lead the eye where you want it to go-emphasizing the important elements of your layout.

[RobRob]

Shellie, I really liked what you said! I never knew the right name and description for those 3 types of balance but you can always tell when a page doesn't have one of them because it is just...off. Balance is SO important for scrapbooking! Alisha taught us in class a little about the rule of thirds and also showed how to balance things on a page. Like if you placed a big, black embellishment on your page, balance it out by adding some black text opposite the embellishment. I remember her saying something like 'when you see those pages that you just love and are just right, they are usually following the rule of thirds.' Balance naturally appeals to us even when we don't know that is what we're looking for! I find when my page looks wrong and I can't figure out what I don't like about it, I almost always find something that's not balanced! So, SO important!

[RobRob]

Originally Posted by April

[*]Find a picture you have taken that is unbalanced. Crop the picture and make it look balanced. Post the original picture as well as the balanced crop version. A balanced picture shouldn't always be centered. Many pictures look much better when you apply the rule of thirds.

P.S. April, how is the rule of thirds applied with pictures? Like can you use it when you are taking the picture? I don't get it. Maybe I don't get what the rule of thirds is all the way.

[Amanda J.]

One of the things I remember from my art class days (many moons ago, LOL) is that symmetry is one of the oldest forms of art. Think of a house with the door in the middle and a window on each side. Or a layout with a large picture in the middle and a smaller one on each side. Or even a tree planted on each side of a sidewalk. There's something about symmetry that is soothing to the soul. Your brain says "That's good."

The rule of thirds is more about creating tension. I found a picture where I used the center focal point of my camera because butterflies move fast. So here's the picture:



And here's what it looks like when you apply the grid that represents the rule of thirds:


There is more visual tension when the subject of your photograph is on one of the places where the lines cross. So I cropped the picture so that the head of the butterfly is on the upper left hand cross:


And here is the final shot without the grid on top:


I especially like to put a person's eyes in the top left or right hand corner. But I'm a head chopper, LOL!

[Kelli West]

great examples Amanda! I like head chopping too!

[Shellie]

Amanda, I'm a head chopper too!

Good examples!

[Charm Lady]

I took photography in high school (forever ago). The first thing we were taught was about the rule of thirds. Most of what I learned I don't remember, but that is the one thing that has stuck with me for all these years. I guess the teacher stressed it soooo much that I couldn't ever forget it. LOL!

Many camera's have a setting where you can view the lines for the rule of thirds on your viewfinder. If you don't know how to get there, check your camera manuel.

Amanda, thanks for the example to show everyone. The example is perfect!

[Shellie]

Originally Posted by RobRob

Shellie, I really liked what you said! I never knew the right name and description for those 3 types of balance but you can always tell when a page doesn't have one of them because it is just...off. Balance is SO important for scrapbooking! Alisha taught us in class a little about the rule of thirds and also showed how to balance things on a page. Like if you placed a big, black embellishment on your page, balance it out by adding some black text opposite the embellishment. I remember her saying something like 'when you see those pages that you just love and are just right, they are usually following the rule of thirds.' Balance naturally appeals to us even when we don't know that is what we're looking for! I find when my page looks wrong and I can't figure out what I don't like about it, I almost always find something that's not balanced! So, SO important!

I learned those definitions in a photo class in 9th grade (400 yrs ago ). For whatever reason I can spew them back still. lol

[kcaldwell50]

I hope I am not the only one that isn't sure how to do this. I guess I will just wait until someone posts a layout and go from there. Thanks for all of the other input. That has helped.

[Amanda J.]

Here are some layout sketches that display the three examples of symmetry. I hope this helps!

Symmetrical (you can split it down the middle and it's the same on both sides.)


Asymmetrical (when you draw a line down the middle it's different on both sides. Something large on one side is balanced by several smaller things on the other)


Radial (everything radiates from the center)

[scrapy]

Wow! I'm starting to get this. Thanks, gals.

[chryslergreen]

Ok, I guess I will jump in here, but trust me I am no expert! I think one of the hard things about balance is there are so many different ways to achieve it, and in no way can you (or should you, or could you) attempt to try them all with one layout or photo. That being said, one of my favorite ways to achieve balance is with TRIANGLES, especially when it comes to placing elements. Here are some examples that I have done:







As you can see, my elements form a triangle that balance out the weight of the overall layout. Does this make sense?

[Alyson]

Amanda, wow! Thanks for all the help. I really love to see a layout that is well balanced, and all your pics and explanations are a great help!!

Lynette, that is a great technique for embellishments!!! I never knew this, and maybe that's why I can never get my embellishments to look quite right. I will definitely be trying this soon.

[Amanda J.]

You are very welcome .

Lynette, I love that tip! And you can use little groups of elements in each place, too. And they don't have to be the same type of thing. Flowers, buttons, a little tag. Opens up whole new worlds .

[kmsarles]

Wow, this is a really challenging category. It's funny really, in real life I am obsessed with symmetry. But in scrapbooking I lean more toward asymmetry and weighted pages. I'm similar in my photography. I like things heavy on the bottom. (maybe because I'm low waisted, and heavier on my bottom half... hmmm...) So it was tough to even find a photo that would be a good example for this challenge. Attached is my original photo of David (actually a replica out in the courtyard), a cropped version with a Gaussian blur in the background, and a layout using the photo. I'm really bad about using elements. If left to my own devices I'll end up with white pages with photos and black text! Anyway... here's my spin. I hope it's not too boring...

[Kim Hansen]

I sure appreciate all the help on this challenge. I find myself being VERY symmetrical even when I take pictures; I always want subjects right in the middle, this will be a challenge to make myself use the rule of thirds which I KNOW will improve my photo skills. Keep the tips coming. I need a lot of help.

[Charm Lady]

I think balance has to do with numbers, too. Like using odd numbers in groups of items. For example, use 3 things (pictures, emblishments, or whatever) on your page instead of 2. Does that make sense? I think the eye flows better when there are odd numbers. You can use them like the triangle Lynnette talked about earlier. Or, use 3 big photos.

[chryslergreen]

Here is my balanced layout. I chose to do a very symmetrical one, since that isn't my usual style. Now I've just got to tackle the photo part of this challenge...

[montmeag]

The most recent Digital scrapbooking magazine had an article in it mostly about Freeform design that touched on balance. In addition to the things mentioned above, it pointed out that colors can be used to achieve balance. For example using stronger colors to ground the LO or something like that. It also said that using graphic elements in opposing corners can create a strong sense of balance.

[lanz]

This is going to be a big challenge for me, I tend to lean more toward everything being symmetrical, from taking pictures to scrapbook pages. Well, I guess this is why we have the olympics for us to try new things and to get out of our comfort zone. I sure have loved doing this. Thanks again April!

[kcaldwell50]

Ok...I am going to try this. I feel like I am so symetrical that I figured I would do it different. I will post my picture first to see if that is correct and then do my page. Here is my picture...Did I do it right??

[Kim Hansen]

I would say you are right on Kim--that's the rule of thirds.

[Kim Hansen]

Diana, now that you are mentioning numbers--I remember taking a class where I was told a good layout has odd number of items--3,5,7,etc. I also remember the teacher telling us about the Z formation where you look at your layout and visual a big Z on the paper--the left top hand corner has something there (small embellishment)--then to the top right corner (something else), on with some journaling close to the bottom left or left middle, then ending with something bigger in the bottom right corner. For some reason, our brains tend to look at things designed this way. I hope this counts towards my part of the conversation in this challenge. I'm going to move on to my photo now.

[April]

Kim I agree with Kim I think you really improved your picture.

I'm not sure my pictures really demonstrate balance and unbalance but I'm going to post them anyway. The first of these two pictures was terrible until I cropped way in and saved the picture. I tilted the picture back a little bit too, to help it look better. I guess, in a way, the first picture is balanced symmetrically. But because the background was distracting, the focus was taken away from my little boy. I think it would have been really hard to create a balanced layout with the first picture because the background is distracting.


balance.jpg

[RobRob]

Oooo nice job Kim and April. I am really glad you guys posted I am seeing what pictures look like with the rule of thirds applied. And Amanda!!! Thank you!! Your little picture "tutorial" was so interesting. It is weird to see how much difference it makes when you shift the focus. The butterfly is way more interesting to look at in the second picture although it's not the center of the picture. How cool!