Scrapbooking Design Principles

A great scrapbook page uses one or more design principles that make the page look pleasing and feel balanced. The advertising and graphic design industries work hard to create eye-catching design, and you can use similar principles on your own pages. You’ll enjoy scrapbooking even more when you know how to create visually interesting layouts.

Balance

From a design standpoint, balance means that the page has good proportions. If you place a photo on the right, for instance, you’d want to balance it with a large title or a journaling box on the left. Keeping all the embellishments at the bottom of the page and not enough elsewhere can create visual heaviness. It shouldn’t feel like all the emphasis is in one spot or too far in one direction.

Focal Point

Based on the subject of your page, it should have a specific place where the viewer looks first—the focal point. There may be additional areas of interest on the page, but there should be only one area of dominance—often the main photo(s). Think carefully about where to place the focal point and let the rest of your design decisions flow from there.

Gallon/Quart/Pint Principle

The gallon/quart/pint principle is useful for establishing balance. Think of each measurement as a quantity of your page elements. The largest element, gallon, is probably your background cardstock. The quart is your next biggest item, maybe an expanse of patterned paper or a photo. The pint is something you use in smaller quantities, such as embellishments.

This principle can also help you use color effectively. A “gallon” of a neutral color, a “quart” of a stronger color, and a “pint” of a dominant hue can be visually pleasing.

Repetition

You can use repetition in several ways, including the way you journal (for instance, by repeating a key phrase, such as “I hope I . . . ,” and giving several answers) or use embellishments. An easy way to employ repetition is to create a visual triangle (see below) or just line up three items in a row. You could repeat colors, say, in the title, the stamping, and the pattern of the paper. You could also use three photos of the same size.

Visual Triangles

When looking over a layout, the eye wants to travel in certain directions. If you can create visual triangles—related visual elements, such as objects or colors, placed at three points that form a triangle—you’ll force the viewer to look within that triangle at your focal point.

For instance, if you use the same color for a title at the top of the page and two sets of embellishments on either side, you’ll create a visual triangle that leads the eye toward the focal point at its center. The sides of the triangle don’t have to be even, but the whole triangle should feel balanced on the page.

White Space

White space doesn’t refer to the color white; instead, it’s the idea that the eye needs a resting space within a layout. In other words, you don’t have to fill up the whole page. Leave some areas empty, giving the eye a chance to slow down.

White space is also helpful in developing balance. Rather than scatter embellishments randomly across the page, cluster them around the photo and leave some breathing room beyond it. But be careful not to trap white space on a layout by using embellishments to surround an area that has no focal point. It’s better to give a blank space an open path to the edge of the page than to enclose it.

Color Schemes

Try to work out the other design principles before you spend time thinking about color schemes. Once you figure out basic balance and your focal point, add color to the mix. Your elementary knowledge of the color wheel will come in handy when forming one of three basic types of color schemes:

• Monochromatic color scheme: Pick one color and use several different shades.
• Analogous color scheme: Use colors that are next to each other on the wheel, such as blue and green.
• Complementary color scheme: Use colors that are opposite each other on the wheel, such as blue and orange. These complementary colors look more dynamic together than monochromatic and analogous combinations.

You can also work with combinations of three or more colors. And by using light and dark variations of these colors, you’ll have a huge range of combinations.