- Any layout, whether it is traditional or avant-garde,
needs to be dynamic.
In addition to principles,
such as balance, tension, and contrast,
scale can change a layout from mediocre to commanding.
Scale in the context of composition and layout
is the size of the elements
and their relationship to each other.
Unmemorable layouts consist of many elements
that all seem to have the same uniform size.
The images are the same size as the text blocks
that are the same size as the graphic shapes.
There is no sense of priority.
Consequently, the page becomes a bland and gray field.
A contrast in scale between a very large image
and very small image creates a dynamic relationship.
A large element will seem larger next to the smaller one.
I'm always striving to create a design that isn't expected.
It's too easy to fall into a pattern of reality.
An elephant is large, so it should be large on the page.
A flower is small and should be smaller on the page,
but the layout is my world.
I can make the flower huge in the foreground
and the elephant in the distance, small.
This creates an unexpected question the viewer must answer.
And if I can create a situation that involves the viewer
more intimately with the piece, I'm succeeding.
Just like working with contrast,
when dealing with scale, think big.
Rather than scaling typography or an image 110%,
enlarge it 500%.
So big, it doesn't fit.
Or shrink it so tiny that I need glasses to see it.
A good rule in any part of the creative process
is to not edit yourself.
If you don't allow yourself the freedom to try something
and think, "Boy, that won't work,"
you might stop any opportunities that come
with exploration and sometimes mistakes.
The worst that can happen
if you try playing with huge scale shifts
is that you won't like the result.
So don't use it.
There is nobody watching over you
and keeping score of explorations that didn't work.
Remember, the goal is to create a dynamic solution
that is unexpected and incredible.
That can't happen with the uniform and timid.