Card Design Handbook: Achieving Balance in Card Design

P. Kelly Smith

Hello, Friends! Welcome to day two of our week-long promotion of Card Design Handbook!

If you haven’t picked up this special issue yet, it’s a must-have for every card maker. Even if you think you already know all the design principles like composition, balance, color, style, and so on. After reading this magazine, I guarantee you’ll approach card design with a brand new set of eyes. And if your goal is to be published (or to be published more frequently), this resource tool could be your new best friend!

Click on the cover to order your copy today!

Today I’ll be spotlighting the “Balance” section of Card Design Handbook. Dictionary.com defines “balance” as: “a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.” In Card Design Handbook, we define it as:  “the way elements of a card (lines, shapes, colors, textures, etc.) are arranged to create a feeling of stability.”

Achieving balance in card design is not as easy as it seems. Especially when there are so many cool ideas, techniques, and products swimming around in your head. Right? Right. Because balance is so important, we’ve broken it down into seven subsections: Symmetry, Asymmetry, Hard vs. Soft, Quiet Space, Line, Texture, and Repetition. Here’s a few card examples of these subsections in action!

Asymmetry:

Emily Branch’s Today & Always Card on p. 40 has the sentiment to the left and a mix of images layered above and to the right to create a juxtaposition of balance and proportion that somehow falls into place beautifully.

Quiet Space:

Julia Stainton’s For the Bride Card on p. 47 shows how using quiet space can create a big impact on the focal point and sentiment. Remember, quiet space doesn’t always have to be white!

Repetition:

Kimberly Crawford’s Dear Friend Card on p. 60 repeats the hexagon shape down the right side of the card, while her vertical sentiment fits perfectly on the left side. It’s also a great example of movement!

Great cards, right? I can tell you already feel smarter. To read up on all the definitions from the “Balance” section, as well as the “Composition,” “Color,” and “Style” sections, click here for our downloadable “Glossary of Design.” Leave a comment telling me what subsection of “Balance” is your favorite and I’ll pick three winners to take home a copy of Card Design Handbook and Stampendous!’s Friendship Assortment stamp set (the same one used in Kimberly’s card above)!

All comments must be received by Thursday, August 23rd at 5 pm MDT.

And don’t forget to swing by the Moxie Fab World for another awesome challenge!

Here’s to achieving balance in every area of your life!