Definition: Used to describe one aspect of the principles of design known as balance, asymmetrical design is typically off-center or created with an odd or mismatched number of disparate elements. When the left and right sides of the design are unequal it is said to have asymmetrical balance.
Asymmetrical does not necessarily mean unbalanced.
A print document may also be asymmetrical in other ways. A folded piece with distinctly uneven panels has asymmetrical folds, such as French Folds. The shape of a diecut or the shape of a package where the left and right or top and bottom are not mirror images is asymmetrical.
Also Known As: asymmetric balance
Common Misspellings: asymetrical | assymetrical | assymmetrical
Examples:
A page layout with staggered headlines or with several small graphics on one half balanced by one large image on the other side is asymmetrical. When folded in half vertically, the two halves of the page are not equal.
