March 19th, 2012 
admin By Peter Brittain
Balance in Design Defined
Balance is determined on how elements of a web page are distributed. The element of balance in design is evident in everything that’s designed. For example, if you were to hang a picture on the wall, would you want three big pictures on one wall and one tiny one on the opposing wall? Probably not because it would be an aesthetic, visual mess and would look sloppy. Larger elements appear to be heavier looking than smaller elements. Balance is designed in three ways: asymmetrical balance, symmetrical balance and discordant or off-balance. We can take a closer look at these three tactics and discuss their purposes and how to achieve them so that they are visually appealing to the web site visitor.
Using and Including Balance in Design
Balance of design found on a web page is the way that it is laid out on the page. Positioning of elements such as text or graphics determines the overall appearance. One challenge in accomplishing a visual balance is the “fold.” The fold area is basically anything below the initial web site of what you see when you first open a web page. This means, that anything you have to scroll down to see on your screen is considered to be below the fold. Basically, consider the entire page as one big whole layout regardless of where the scroll has to begin.
As previously stated, balance is in the layout of the web page. You can float elements on the page, center them to achieve a sense of balance on the page. Some web sites are even built on a grid design. It is subconsciously notable that web pages are laid out in grid like format. You can feel that it’s like that even though there are no lines. It’s a good way to consider design because of the basic square and rectangular like shapes of a web page.
Symmetrical Balance
This element of design is achieved by placing all of the visuals such as text and images in an even fashion across the entire page. When we think about the element of symmetry on a web page, we typically think about if it were folded in half across an imaginary line vertically. If a heavy set of text is on one side of the web page, a larger image or a couple of smaller ones need to be on the other side of the page to have true symmetry. Try to keep it from looking boring. Sometimes designers use symmetry so much that the page looks awkward and too.
Asymmetrical Balance
This is a challenging design tactic in which objects are not exactly matched and evenly distributed across the vertical center line. An example of asymmetry in web design is to place a large graphic close to the center line and then a small object on the other side of the center line but farther away from it and closer to the edge of the page. Any method that creates an unbalanced appearance is asymmetrical. It isn’t unappealing but can be difficult to achieve. You can think of this tactic like a see-saw with the center line being a point of gravity.
Discordant and Off Balance
This design is designed to suggest motion and action on a web page. It’s actually somewhat more attention grabbing if executed correctly but it can often make the page visitor a bit uneasy or even uncomfortable. However, sometimes that is the whole intention of the page design is chaos and a bit of pandemonium.
Web Design Perth provides web designing services in Australia and is also the author of Earth Movin’ Media, a useful web design blog.
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