tHeory tHursday
Good morning blog readers! It’s tHeory tHursday at ScrapMatters. That means on tHursdays we will be bringing you different tips, info, design theories and even the hottest trends in digi-scrap!
This week I want to focus on LINE. Whether you mean to or not, almost every scrapper uses line to express emotion and feeling in their work. What separates the outstanding layouts from the average ones are those that use line to its full advantage!
What is “line”, you ask? Well, in design, “line” refers to how the viewer’s eye movement can be controlled by the arrangement of the work. Eye movement is unconsciously influenced by the way things fit or flow together, both on the horizontal and vertical planes.
Different lines subconsciously give different emotions or feeling to our layouts.
When you use horizontal lines in your layouts, (i.e. lines going from left to right across straight across the page) give feelings of peace, calm, quiet, and joyful serentiy.
Possibly we relate horizontal lines to the peace of a rising or setting sun on the horizon, lying down to sleep, or the calm sea. Whatever the reason, utilize horizontal lines in your layout design with horizontally arranged photos, long lines of type or journaling, or panoramic shaped photos and frames when you want the viewer to feel tranquil and serene.
Vertical lines (i.e. lines going up and down on the page) suggest potential for movement. Verticals stripes, stacked photos, even tall lettering or alphas all create vertical lines.
With the potential for movement, comes a feeling of anticipation, hope, and optimism. Perhaps our minds relate vertical lines with ladders leading upward and onward. Use vertical photo-booth strips, vertically striped papers, or ribbons running down the page to create a happy and expectant feeling in your layout design.
And lastly, diagonal lines (i.e. lines on a tilt, not parallel with the edges of the page create movement. They give the viewer feelings of vitality and energy.
By tilting photos, running elements from corner to corner across the LO, not lining up photo mats and elements symmetrically, or using a diagonal striped paper, we give our page liveliness and excitement! Clustering and using that “messy” look you’ve seen in layouts, creates contrasting diagonal lines, and adds even more life and more energy.
Look through your existing layouts. I guarantee you will find that these line rules apply to many of your pages, even if you didn’t know it at the time you scrapped it! These rules are unintentional. We don’t feel certain ways about lines because we are told to; it’s subliminal. And these rules of line aren’t hard fast. They are theory. You’ll find that some layouts may not follow these rules at all!
However, by being conscious of line and utilizing the influence of line to express emotion, your layouts will become even more effective. And when you look back at your memories years from now, you will be able to feel the emotions of each page, as powerfully as you did the day you scrapped it. And isn’t that “what matters most”?
Tags: assymetry, design theory, diagonal, line, symmetry, Tutorials
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Great article Britt! I’m going to have to pay more attention to how I use line in my LOs.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Loved this! It’s so true, and those feelings really ARE what matters most!
XOXO
April 21st, 2011 at 1:44 pm
[...] has another excellent tutorial about creating a line in your layout for your eye to follow.. it’s fantastic for making you [...]