Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Balance

10/2/2016

Balance in design is important. Designers must balance things like unity vs. variety and figure vs. ground. Balance can also be described as achieving visual equilibrium via symmetrical and asymmetrical balance. To do this, designers find balance by choosing what is where in a composition.

Symmetrical and/or asymmetrical balance are as important in painting and photography as they are in a typographic layout. It is imperative that designers understand the pleasing visual of balance while also controlling the visual hierarchy in a dynamic layout.

http://images.slideplayer.com/19/5785153/slides/slide_28.jpg

SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
"Symmetrical balance is also called formal balance because a form (formula) is used. This formula is the usage of a mirror image about a vertical (or horizontal) axis. The results look formal, organized and orderly. There is a strong emphasis on the center axis in symmetry since all of the information is reflected from this point...Symmetrical images have a strong sense of unity because at least half of the image is repeated. At the same time they lack variety because only half is unique."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fY54okBt12U/TN3UPTrywSI/AAAAAAAACdE/vQ-5OctYWDE/s1600/symmetry+-asymmetry+ex.jpg

ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
"Asymmetry means without symmetry. That by itself has nothing to do with balance. It just means that there are no mirror images in a composition. The term, however, is usually used to describe a kind of balance that does not rely on symmetry: asymmetrical balance.

There is no simple formula for achieving balance in asymmetrical balance (hence the term informal balance) so the designer must sense whether or not the composition is balanced. The composition either looks like it is balanced or it does not. Where does your attention go when you look at an image? If it seems to wander around more or less evenly, there is probably balance. If you seem to always come back to the same area before looking elsewhere, then the balance is suspect."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fY54okBt12U/TN3UPTrywSI/AAAAAAAACdE/vQ-5OctYWDE/s1600/symmetry+-asymmetry+ex.jpg

http://images.slideplayer.com/28/9312741/slides/slide_16.jpg

Text paraphrased from http://daphne.palomar.edu/design/bsymm.html

Consider the asymmetrical balance shown in the Power of Thirds image from a couple of weeks ago or in a page layout regarding Grid Theory from last week.

STUDENTS:
ONE SAMPLE EACH OF SYMMETRICAL AND ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE

Please post once with a website address displaying symmetrical balance and explain how the sample displays this.
Then post again with a website address displaying asymmetrical balance and explain how the sample displays this.

The two do NOT need to be related like the two images above.

12 Comments

Nichole Johns link

10/13/2016 01:00:30 pm

Symmetrical is where things are equal on both sides. This photograph is a great example because it is a reflection in the water. It is symmetrical because it is an exact image on a horizontal axis. It shows unity by repeating itself.

10/13/2016 01:18:06 pm

Asymmetrical is pretty much the opposite of symmetrical. There is still balance, but it is not equal. This picture for example is balanced because there is a cup on each side of the table. However, the amount of cups and the lipton tea tag makes it uneven and asymmetrical.

Darian Stewart link

11/11/2016 01:33:27 pm

This is an example of symmetrical balance because it is an exact reflection of the trees and landscape within the water. Both halves are equal in parts and has unity amongst the whole image.

11/11/2016 01:36:59 pm

This is an example of asymmetrical balance because on both sides of the image it is different in regards to balance. There is only one rock on the left of the image but on the right there are several making up the composition.

Brittney Clayton link

11/26/2016 03:37:02 pm

This photo shows symmetrical balance because it has two flamingos on either side of the image. The flamingos are a little off center, but they're still balanced because your eyes flow equally between each object. It also helps that they're pretty much in the center of the image.

11/26/2016 03:40:17 pm

This is an example of asymmetrical balance, mostly because your attention is first drawn to the view of the half visible bridge. After it catches your attention, your eye then travels around the rest of the image to look at everything else that is there. The reflection of the bridge in the water then draws your eye back to the bridge and you look around once more.

Khansa Alodhaib link

11/28/2016 01:51:13 pm

This is a good example of asymmetrical balance because it is the inverse of symmetrical adjust on the grounds that if this was symmetrical their future one pine cone on every side of the picture or three yet this picture has one pinecone on one side and three on the other.

Haydin Hall

11/29/2016 07:17:23 pm

This is a great example of symmetrical balance because each wing of the butterfly is almost perfectly even. Nothing in the natural world is perfect but for butterflies their wings are almost exactly the same.

Haydin Hall link

11/29/2016 07:20:44 pm

forgot to post website

11/29/2016 07:22:20 pm

This image is asymmetrical with the middle stone being vertical and the other stones leaning inwards. Your eye first follows to the vertical stone then to the leaning asymmetric stones.

xiyang hua link

12/1/2016 10:16:10 pm

This is a building structure which is a perfect symmetrical as we can see. The building is tower which is balance at the middle.

12/1/2016 10:23:22 pm

this is a asymmetric photography. Also it is a building. The left upper picture is empty, and we can see the sky. The right of this picture is a corner of a building.However, this is a beautiful picture. The Large objection is the main thing on this picture

Design Blog (2016)