BALANCE Balance makes the page feel more comfortable to the reader’s eye. When you don’t have balance the page feels off. All the elements of the design have to be equally distributed for the page to feel balanced. There are two types of balance. The first is symetrical. This is where elements are arranged equally on both sides of the page. This will make the page feel more stable to the reader’s eye. The second type of balance is asymetrical. This is when the elements on a page deliberately look imbalanced. When done correctly it gives the page a look of veriety without confusing the reader.
CONTRAST CONTRAST When the visual differences between the size, shape, and color of the elements work together to help the reader understand the message, that is contrast. Good contrast can draw the readers eyes to the right part of a page when they start reading and this will help them understand it better. If you see bad contrast, you might just be confused on where the designer is intending for you to look first.
The idea behind contrast is to make the elements on the page stand out because of the visual difference. When it is done successfully, you can almost draw the reader in. Contrast can deffinatly make a page stand out and be much more visually enticing. Contrast is said to be the most important visual aspect on a page. Its what makes the reader look at the page in the first place.
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FOCAL PO NT
The focal point of a page is what your eye goes to first. It has to be something that stands out on a page. How can it draw your eye if it doesn’t?
A focal point can be described as something on your page that is huge, interesting and strong. People are more likely to read the rest of your text if you catch their eye with a good focal point.
A page without a focal point can leave someone’s eye struggling to find what the page even has to say at all. The reader is more likey to give up or not even try in the first place if a focal poin is not esablished.
When a page has rhythm, it has a flow to it. This flow is created by repetition of some of the elements on the page. Rhythm is used to guide the reader’s eye through the text.
The repetition of an element on the page helps to better understand the information given by showing you how your eye should be going through it.
When used incorrectly, you could confuse the reader to where they could not even bother to continue reading or they may completely misunderstand the information.
RHYTHM
UN IT Y
When a page has unity it has a sense of completeness. It will give off a vibe that all the components of the page belong together and share a common purpose. When someone is viewing your design they will always seek unity whether they know it or not. The human mind wants things to go togehter and make sense. As a page is seeming to fit together with all of the elements in harmony, you have more than likely created unity among all the elements. Without this unity on the page the view is more likely to lose interest. I really think that unity comes from understanding how the 5 principles of design work together. I personally think that unity cannot happen until you understand balance, focal point, rhythm, and contrast. When all of the elements come together well, then unity is much easier to have.