The first design principles we will cover are balance and alignment. Other words to describe these principles are placement, configuration, orientation, and association. Balance in general is seen as equally visual weight. It has to do with the configuration and association of objects in relation, or lack of relation to each other. Here's an analogy to describe balance. Try walking along distance with a two pound bag of bricks in one hand, and a 10 pound bag of wooden blocks in the other. After a while, you'll be wanting to shift your load around putting some blocks in the brick bat to balance your load making it easier to walk. This is how balance works in design. Visual balance comes from arranging elements on the page so that no one section is heavier than the other. Or a designer may intentionally throw elements out of balance to create tension or a certain mood. There are basically three kinds of balances in design. Symmetrical balance has a central axis dividing the composition down the middle, horizontally, or vertically with the same design on both sides. What most of us would think of is a mirror reflection. Asymmetrical design is typically off centered or created with an odd or mismatch number of disparate elements. However, you can still have an interesting design without perfect symmetry. In radial balance, parts of the design are arranged in a circular round pattern so that they are balanced across the width and the length of the page. When a design can be centered or evenly divided both vertically and horizontally, it has the most complete symmetry possible. Symmetrical balance generally lends itself to a more formal orderly layout. They often convey a sense of tranquility or even elegance. With asymmetrical balance, you are evenly distributing the elements within the format which name mean balancing a large photo or several small graphics, or you can create tension by intentionally avoiding balance. Asymmetrical layouts are generally more dynamic and by intentionally ignoring the balance, the designer can create tension, express movement, or convey a mood. On a square or rectangular pages, we generally place elements in orderly rows and columns. But with radial design, the elements radiate from a swirl around in a circular or spiral path. Moving onto alignment, this design principle is concerned with the orientation and placement of text and graphics, so that they line up on the page. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to find your car in a crowded parking lot. If everyone ignored the parking lot stripes and just parked in every which direction and angle. Imagine trying to get out of there. Alignment brings order to chaos in a parking lot and on a piece of paper. High aligned type and graphics on a page and in relation to each other, can make your layout easier or more difficult to read, foster familiarity or bring excitement to a stale design. Much like balance, aligning items in design allows for cohesiveness. Where nothing feels out of place or disconnected, good alignment is invisible and means that every element is visually connected to another element. Most readers won't consciously notice that everything is lined up, but they will feel it when things are out of place. Luckily, tools to help with assuring alignment are featured in various design programs like InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Snap to grid rulers and baseline grids are just some of the built-in alignment features that are useful in a computer design applications, to make sure items line up correctly in a piece. Graphic designers have several kinds of alignment to use. Edge alignment lines up text or objects along top, bottom, left, or right edges. Center alignment may be horizontally or vertically aligned or both. In vertical alignment, the top and bottom margins are exactly or visually equal. Vertical alignment can be the full page or within portions of the page. In horizontal alignment, left and right margins are exactly or visually equal. Horizontal alignment can be across the page or within columns. We tend to think of horizontal alignment as left, centered, or right alignment. Lack of alignment, such as in this business card creates a sloppy unbalanced look. Mixing too many elements can have a similar effect. In this next business card design, we used alignment and creative balance, to create order, organize page elements, group the elements, and create visual connections. However, it's okay to play with the balance or break alignment when it serves a specific purpose. Such as to intentionally create tension or draw attention to a specific element on the page. So really, there are no black and white set of rules to follow, just designed guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to balance and alignment.
