Unity and variety are two of the most fundamental principles of design. When used correctly, these two principles complement each other and result in artwork that looks just right, complete, and pleasing.
Unity happens when the parts of a scrapbook page or layout (or any kind of art) work together to be seen as a whole. It’s difficult to specify exactly how to achieve it because unity is an impression of the person that is making the observation. It is a feeling that is conveyed to the viewer of the art. And because we’re unique, each of us with our own perspective, it comes down to who you are making your art for.
With all that said, there are a couple of tips that have proven time and time again to result in artwork that looks unified to pretty much everyone.
The first tip will sound fairly obvious: greater unity can be achieved by reducing diversity! In this instance, we specifically mean reducing how much diversity you employ in each of the main elements of design (shape, color, lines, texture, space, value, and form). In our example above, you can see that we kept to just a handful of colors and basic shapes, most of them created by straight lines. Because the various elements of the page share many attributes, there is less diversity and greater unity.
Our second tip to building unity in scrapbooking is the use of repetition. Looking at our example again, what repetition do you see? Let us know what you find in the comments below. (Hint: there is so much more than just the square shapes! 🙂 )
This leads us to the second principle of design we are discussing today. To create pages that are visually interesting and exciting, you have to have variety in your art.
Variety occurs when you use differences and change on your pages to increase visual interest.
The scrapbook page we are sharing with you today is made up of 12 3″ x 3″ squares. This works well in this instance because of the variety in the patterns, colors, and photos. The elements need to be alike enough so we can see that they belong together and at the same time different enough to be interesting (harmony).
The principles of art are tried and true methods for organizing the elements of your art. When all of the pieces work together, the result is harmonious! Make an effort to strike a good balance between unity and variety on your scrapbook pages so that your albums will be brimming with enjoyable works of art! Keep following us on the blog to learn more!
Recipe:
12″ x 12″ Love Today Page
D1772 My Acrylix® Documented—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, X7234B Documented Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z5941 Bashful Cardstock, X5984 Pixie CardstockX5984 Pixie Cardstock, X5963 Poppy Cardstock, X5983 Sorbet Cardstock, X5961 Saffron Cardstock, Z2844 Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2852 Poppy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7234C Documented Complements, Z4177 Documented Dots, Z4171 Documented Titles, Z4197 Central Park Alphabet, Z4182 Thin Cuts—Stitched Hearts, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Sewing Machine
