| Balance |
Our bodies need a balance of nutrients to keep us healthy but every now and then it's OK to feast on chocolate, ice cream, and an entire supersize bag of potato chips. Balance in design is much the same. For most of our reading our eyes and minds are most comfortable with evenly balanced layouts where the graphics don't overpower the text and the page doesn't seem to tilt to one side or the other.
Other times we crave the teetering and tottering of a page that's just a little of out of kilter or totally lopsided. But before we indulge our tastebuds, we need a good foundation in the basics of balance — what it is and how to achieve it.
The Principle of Balance
Primarily there are three types of balance in page design:
- symmetrical
- asymmetrical
- radial
Additionally, we'll discuss:
- the rule of thirds
- the visual center of a page
- the use of grids
Next > Symmetrical Balance
