Thursday, June 6, 2019

GIU Day Four - Design Principles

Hello and welcome back to day 4 of  my GIU week. Remember to comment for your chance at winning some deeply etched red rubber.

If you're just joining in, I've been tackling some design principles this week. Today I'll talk about balance. And while I'm not so much talking about not falling off a balance beam or curb, I am referring to visual weight, and oddly enough, it can feel like a 2-D creation is going to topple or tilt. Why is this? Our brains are cool. I watched a series on Netflix last year about how the brain works that was fascinating. There were entire episodes on how our brains are fooled by what information the eyes pass on. Balance principle is example of this. If our eyes are showing a visual imbalance, our brain actually feels that it might tip or topple. Interesting, huh? Today I will discuss three ways to achieve balance.

First up is symmetrical balance. I'm sure it seems self explanatory; symmetrical insinuates equal measures on either side of center. If you use one of these on the right side, be sure to add it to the left too. You can think of  it as a mirrored effect. That said....it's always good to bring just a bit of asymmetry into a symmetrical design. If you remember what I said yesterday about the brain liking order so it can move on, you'll remember that we want to invite it to stay and linger. Just a bit of asymmetry accomplishes this. Such at in the two sentiments being on top and bottom, but swapping sides of the main images.




So if we have symmetrical balance, that must mean we have asymmetrical balance. This means our mirror is gone, but we still achieve balance by arranging our elements so that the sides have equal weight. If you have a large image on the left, have a group of smaller ones on the right. If you have a large sentiment in the bottom right, add a banner cluster to the top left. This gives balance to the overall design. It's all a matter of perception; how the arrangement makes the brain feel.



Finally, there is radial balance. You achieve this balance by creating circle with your elements. Using the Gina K wreath builder system a perfect example of radial balance. You can see that there is symmetry horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.



I hope you return tomorrow for my wrap up to design principles and my week as the GIU gal.  Be sure to comment for a chance to win the deeply etched red rubber prize and consider subscribing to this blog to keep up with what is going on in my craft room.

Until tomorrow, happy stamping!





35 comments:

  1. ‘Paws’itively, perfect advice! Great post on balance! ๐Ÿ˜✂️๐Ÿพ

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  2. Another great day of tips with lovely cards to illustrate! (BTW - I recently enjoyed a DVD series my husband bought on the brain -- it's fascinating to discover the way it works!)
    This is another one of those principles I incorporate without thinking about it ... I often find myself arranging and rearranging the elements of my card till they "feel" balanced.

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  3. Radial balance! You are a beautiful genius, Mooney! I love these, especially the kitty!

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  4. Thank you for the great tips on balance... I was unaware of radial balance. Love the cards, especially lucky dog.

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  5. Good stuff! Super cute kitty wreath card!

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  6. Love these adorable images and cards. The lessons on balance are so useful and I like the way you make it so easy to understand. Thank you so much and could you post the name of the video you mentioned?!

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    1. It's Brain Games. They use games to show you just how easy it is for your brain to be tricked and then have really cool explanations

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  7. The critters are always a favorite for me. I love them all!
    Love the design of the last card - I have a thing for wreaths
    and this one is really adorable with all the images used.

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  8. Love the symmetry with the banner cluster - yet another technique to try! Again, beautiful work!!

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  9. Love using banners to help balance... usually I add a few staples too. Lol

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  10. Though I might think it's funny to mentally topple someone, I prefer balance for myself ๐Ÿ˜…. This was a great tutorial and your cards are precious! Thank you.

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  11. You certainly have a great balance!! Your cards always just put mine to shame!! Thanks for sharing more knowledge!

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  12. Great tips so glad I’m hopping on your blog. Great balance

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  13. Wow fantastic cards and great tips!

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  14. You have taught me so much this week Laura. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talents with us!!

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  15. Cute cards demonstrating balance. I think I need the Gina K wreath builder.

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  16. Live your sweet cards and your very helpful lesson!!! Thanks Laura!❤️

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  17. These are so pretty, love the card with the dog!!And I love your explanations of things!!

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  18. Your cards are so cute and your lessons so helpful. Thank you!

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  19. Kitty Love! (My favorite of the 3) Another helpful design tutorial, Thank you!

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  20. Symmetrical I guess that is me. I most always have my cards this way it seems to be how I like them. Love your cards and all the information you have shared with us

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  21. Love the adorable bunnies, pup and kitty! Sweet cards!
    Thanks for the pointers about balance!

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  22. Great cards and great explanation/teaching. I especially like the dog card.

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  23. Again, a good tutorial on basic design principles. Really enjoying your week as GIU girl.

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  24. I love all the examples and especially love another example of using the wreath builder using stamps we already have.

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  25. Your tip about equal weight on each side of a card or top to bottom makes so much sense. There have been times when I look at a card I am working on and think it needs something, but I'm not sure what it is. Now that I think of it, it is the need for balance of some type. Thanks for sharing both explanations and examples of the types of balance out there!

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  26. Adorable critter cards! all your tips are wonderful.
    stamping sue
    http://stampingsueinconnecticut.blogspot.com/

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  27. I’m loving your cards and your easy to understand explanations on design principles. Thank you for another day of inspiration.

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  28. What wonderful cards and explanations you have. So easy to understand...

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  29. Another great design tip! Love the kitty wreath card!

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  30. More awesome tips and fabulous card examples! Loving your GIU week!

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