I often associate a strong sense of balance with yoga. When you do balance poses like tree, you have to make sure you are well grounded, otherwise you’ll topple over! You also have to maintain a sense of strength in your core and pushing your foot against your leg helps you offset having your leg turned out to the side.

Balance in design is the same way. The balance of a piece is like the underlying structure, the core, than supports the rest of the design.

As you read, notice the uses of the elements and principles of design. See how balance depends on them and helps create and support other principles.

What is balance?

Balance is the equal distribution of visual weight symmetrically, asymmetrically or radially. Depending on how an element of design is used, it has strong or weak sense of presence in a layout. The type of balance can add to the over all mood of the design.

Symmetrical Balance

Formal, orderly, unified, clean, sterile, boring, stable.

Asymmetrical Balance

Stimulating, creative, complex, spontaneous.

Radial Balance

Natural, glowing, dynamic, energetic.

Balance is used to…

• Harmonize
• Create focus and direction
• Set the mood

Creating Balance

Balance is created by using the elements of design. It’s important to understand the visual weight of the elements you use, so you can balance them with opposite, contrasting ones.

Deep, cool colors like black, blue or purple tend to have a stronger presence on the page than light, warm colors such as yellow and orange.

One thick line, which appears heavy within the layout, can be balanced by using several thin lines on the opposite side of the composition.

Large-scale items have more visual weight on the page than small objects, though if an object is overly large, it can merge with the background, so be mindful of that.

Detailed, complex shapes, such as the silhouette of a person, tend to overpower simpler shapes like circles or squares.

A large open white space can balance a smaller area that is dense with objects. Likewise, a large element near the middle of the focal point can

Textures that are smooth or areas that have little visual texture counter items with strong textures like burlap or a detailed background pattern.

Objects with a low or dark value tend to hold more visual weight than objects with a lighter value.

Examples of Balance

Take a look at these two iTunes gift cards. The complexity of the background on the $25 gift card competes with the silhouette of the woman. In fact, I would say it even overpowers her because of the combination of its detail, higher value and warm colors. She turns into a gaping hole! The guy on the $15 card is a little more blended with his background. I would classify both of these as having an asymmetrical balance, though I think the $15 card handles it better.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I Represent the New Symbol of Peace is balanced diagonally in an asymmetrical way. Most of the visual weight is pulling towards the lower right hand corner. In terms of top to bottom weight, the text is offset by the solid black of the bird on top, which is visually heavier than the brush strokes for its bottom half.

The fine detail in the floral illustration (complex shapes) on the right is well balanced by the negative space on the left. The high value of illustration is also in balance with the low value of the brown in the negative space. The contrast in texture between the illustration and negative space is also a form of balance. The “plain” area at the bottom containing the company name serves to emphasize the content there and this use of space is very wise and effective.

Generally we prefer visual weight to be in the lower right hand corner: we read left to right, so we like to end on the right. We also read top to bottom, so we like to end at the bottom. The designer of this lotion package is well aware of how placing the visual weight at the bottom (asymmetrical) of the tube balances out this smaller part with the flared top, which has more surface area. The band of color provides stability to the design, while the floral illustration provides interest and freedom.

How you can improve your sense of balance

Divide the layout in half vertically and see if both sides are equal in visual weight. Now divide the layout in half horizontally and see if top and bottom have the same visual impact. You can even divide it diagonally if you want.

Be sure to grab the Creative Curio RSS feed (What is RSS?) so you don’t miss the rest of this series on the Principles of Design! We will go over the principles of balance, contrast, direction, economy, emphasis, proportion, rhythm (repetition) and unity (harmony) and how to apply them in your designs over the next few weeks.

If you’re interested in more applied design theory, take a look at the Elements of Design Real World Examples series.