Web Design as Painting: Balanced Compositions

A composition is considered balanced if its halves have the sameweight: if there's about as much stuff on one side as the other. Themost extreme example of this kind of balance is perfect symmetry. Butthat's a rarity; it looks too rigid, too mechanical. The trick for anyartist is to create balance while maintaining the illusion that thecomposition just turned out that way. The key is to create balance "byaccident", or imbalance for a reason.

What, you might ask, does this have to do with creating internet pages?

Web design is all about composition: about positioningobjects-blocks of text, images, advertising-in an appealing way.Balance is naturally appealing. You, therefore, want to be like theartist, and create balance on your web pages. But, also like theartist, you want the page to appear balanced by accident. Ifsomeone visits your page, the balance shouldn't be visible; yourvisitor should marvel at how nice-looking and functional your page is,while, only unconsciously, registering its compositional balance.

Eliciting this type of response takes skill, practice, and a special way of looking. So, naturally, let's cheat a little!

Take an image of your favourite painting-or, if you don't have afavourite painting, browse an online gallery and pick one. A still lifeis usually easiest, but any type of painting will do: portrait,landscape, etc. When you've made your choice, open the image of thepainting as in Photoshop or any other image editing software thatallows for layers. Set the painting as one layer.

Now, decide what you want on your page. Separate your design intoelements. Then, for each element create a new layer. For example:"intro text", "header", "Adsense block", etc.

Next, the fun and creative part!

Using the original painting as a guide, try to mimic its compositionusing the elements at your disposal. What are the basic shapes in thepainting, do you seen any that resemble your own shape? If so, tryputting your own element in the same spot. Is there something about thepainting that you notice first, a part that immediately catches youreye? If so, chances are the balance pulls your eyes toward that spot.Perhaps you should place whatever element you think is most importanton your page and position it similarly. And, remember: never be toorigid. The painting is a guide, not an exact form.

PS: Once you get the hang of it, try to fiddle with balance. And tip the scales in your favour, so to speak...

About the author: Roger Barnsley is webmaster of Radon Gas Kills, a site about the effect of radon gas on your heatlh. In his spare time, he also writes about American and foreign cinema and that bulbous RV known as the Airstream.