a little thought: Thinking Through Design -- the power of lines

Welcome back! I am happy this week to present to you : Thinking Through Design… principles of the power of lines.


Let’s talk about lines…. I am not talking the rule of thirds lines… which we can always discuss later, but most people know about the rule of thirds… I want to talk about lines… plain ole’ lines. The power they hold and how you can use them effectively.

LINES are funny little things, they really can create havoc if you don’t pay attention to them. SO let me share with you about lines.

Here is some basic information about what LINES convey: (for this post I will primary discuss vertical and horizontal lines. I will later share about curved lines.

SO when you are using lines it is vital, yes vital to understand that you are going to direct the viewer’s eye to the elements you place on a line. Often when coupled with good color choice, a paper artist can very effectively create a balance on his or her work by “working the lines”

In the layout you notice a great deal of lines are in play. Remember horizontal lines are peaceful and grounding. I maintained visual consistency (see previous post) with my choice to keep my horizontal lines in play. All the elements are grounded with a line. This brings up the “Z” form of design *which is a simple principle that most artist use unknowingly and effectively*. In English, we read from left to right, this creates a power of line, by using a natural eye movement; you can manipulate the lines they create to your advantage. By recognizing that I want my reader to READ my quote prior to really viewing the photos, I have placed it before the photos on the “Z” the quote gives a tickle or feel about what my “secret” may be. I placed the journaling under the photos on another line that is “grounding” those same photos. That line is very important so it stands alone. We will discuss the typography another day but there is a major purpose behind the size of that font.

IF you want to emphasize a photo or a journaling section, or the title is what you want to POP place it on a line. Literally, use your patterned paper, or trim of some sort to draw the eye right into your element. REMEMBER: vertical and horizontal lines create stability, BUT you must use them in equal proportion correctly apply that principle. In other words, don’t use a fire red,thick vertical line and a soft, thin pink horizontal line… that will cause the vertical line to take even MORE dominance!

little thought on symbolic photography

Do you ever have more story than photo? Or WORSE yet, NO PHOTO and a story that is determined to be told!… well this week we are going to look at a fun way to use your layouts when you may be less than happy with your photo… or if your photo doesn’t really tell the story.

This layout (LOST) is a photo of my son, he is about 11 years old in this photo. I remember the night I scrapbooked this photos, like it was just yesterday. I was at a crop at my church, and I was skimming through a pack of pictures and this one stopped me.. not because the day at the park playing was a huge monumental event… we had fun sure and I got great pictures of my kids.. that is not what called me….

I sat there and I had a fleeting thought… “how blessed are we that he is here!” see when my son was but two years old we lost him at a school fun festival… I was working the Bake Sale, my hubby was taking the kids around to the rides and activities… As I sat there (at this public crop) tears welled up in my eyes and I just gazed at what a handsome young man he had become…. And I could not stop myself from documenting the terror of those excruciating minutes of my life when I thought I would never see him grow into a man….

A photo of Brad as a two year old would have been great, BUT it was seeing him as an eleven year old that prompted the feelings. The story was several years old, and I used my photo to help show how blessed I am to know that little boy was indeed safe with his family. Of course I don’t have any photos of that night, and I am glad…if I had photos I may have missed out on this layout… This is an example of symbolic photography… I used one image to tell a story of another event.

Here is our tip : Symbolic Photography often is more powerful than a photo of an event. Using symbolic photography strengthens emotions that are brought to the story. Try a new angle by using symbolic photography. Remember, symbolic photography does NOT have to be of a person, it can be a flower, an ocean shot, it can be a can of soda… but use it not to talk about the ocean or soda, but the memory … that can of soda may remind you of a day you took your child out for a date, she drank 3 cherry sodas and was acting so silly and got the giggles and cherry coke shot out of her nose… (see this triggered a memory too) and now, every time you see Cherry Coke you are reminded of how blessed you were to have that date with your child.

Thanks for hangin' out. Be blessed today... as alway feel free to leave any questions or comments!  I will do my best to answer them toot-sweet!

a little on design principle

GOOD Mornining Friends --

Well this morning I want to put a little thought into a design principle that may help bring together those layouts that seem to be fighting you. The ones that you say... I like it but I just don't LOVE it..  A principle that is often seen but not heard about.  It actually has a name it seems so simple yet many times we overlook it... Viusal Consistency. 
When you round the corners of your paper and photos you create visual consistency. While layouts rhythms change from page to page, one of the most powerful things you can add to your work is visual consistency. Your layouts main purpose is not to DAZZLE but to communicate; from the colors we chose to the use of a line, or curve we are communicating to our readers.


This means, we apply uniform styling to our work. When using rounded corners we soften the hard lines that may convey a more direct or hard feeling. For example in my layout from the ISSUE CHALLENGE, the images in the photo are round. Adding the scallop border to the bottom of the layered paper reinforces the feel of the photo. If I had left the brown pattern paper hard, it would create a harder look. The feeling I was conveying was one of softness in a harsh environment. By adding a rounded corner, I am helping to convey that uniqueness that I noticed in the harsh roadside environment. When I rounded the corner of my papers and added the scallop boarder, I am adding visual consistency to the feel of my layout – softness.

You will hear a lot about visual consistency in design because it is vital to creating visually pleasing layouts.

There should be an overall visual system to the layout, carefully considered in the first stages of design, that brings together the elements into a coherent whole. In the above layout you can see I used the power of the round flowers from the photo to dictate the overall feel of the page. Note: I have not included the embellishments, in the discussion, but clearly they are reflecting the same feel of softness through the curved edges. I really hope this little tip helps! If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
Please hop over to Club CK and join in the ISSUE CHALLENGES!  We have a lot of fun!

a little thought on the mood of color

WEDNESDAY—Yeah… I love Wednesday! One it is hump day... which means we are on our way to the weekend. ALSO today I start my “Art of Storytelling” class today. (I know it sounds like a weird class, but I speak publicly often and I am way excited on learning to communicate better!) One thing I love about scrapbooking is the communication. I always look at the fun exciting ways I can communicate my feelings and ideas in my pages. The ISSUE challenge today is a color challenge so check it out... ANYWAY...

So here is my sample: notice I the use of the lime green brings a youthfulness to the layout... when I added a hint of orange it really reinforces the excitement I remember of my kids creating this game.  The chatter as they made decisions and the joy of playing a game they had created!

  

SO here is a little thought on the mood of color:

  

Understanding the feel of color can help you to convey your story. Here are some things to think about when choosing a color:

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

• • Light red: represents joy, passion, sensitivity, and love
• • Pink: represents romance, love and friendship. It also denotes feminine qualities of passiveness
• • Dark Red: represents vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice and wrath
• • Redish-Brown: associated with harvest and fall

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

• • Dark Orange: deceit or distrust
• • Red-Oranges: desire, passion, pleasure, aggression, and thirst for action
• • Bright Orange: excitement, joy, fun

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

• • Dull yellow: vintage, or caution
• • Light yellow: intellect, freshness, and joy
• • Bright yellow: joy, happiness, energy

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

• • Dark Green: ambition, greed, jealously, outdoors, freshness
• • Yellow-Green: (dull)- Sickness, vintage or retro (bright)- excitement, joy fun
• • Aqua-Green: emotional healing, protection, action, excitement, calming
• • Olive Green: traditional color of peace

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE COLOR GREEN: Green is the most versatile color on the color wheel. It moves from calming to excitement with great ease. If you are struggling to “blend” colors on a layout, try adding a little green.

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

• • Light Blue: health, healing, tranquility, understanding and softness
• • Dark Blue: knowledge, power, integrity and seriousness
• • Bright Blue: excitement, fun, energy

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

• • Light Purple: romantic and nostalgic feelings
• • Dark Purple: sad feelings, frustration (can be felt), seriousness, importance, regal, dignity

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.

 So  that is just one little thought on color.  I didn't even go into ways of picking color.. I will do that in another little chat. Today, the next time you are choosing colors for a project, reflect on the story you want to communicate... is it exciting, or somber, is it romantic or silly?  When you use color to help tell your story you will find an ease about choosing embellishments and papers!  Good luck and let me know how things go for you. ALSO please do pop in over a Club CK and join the color challenge we have for this weeks ISSUE Challenge!  

See you there!