Scrapbooking has become one of the most popular hobbies today. In fact for some it is not even considered a hobby, it is considered to be a form of art. With so much new technology available to scrapbookers today and so many new scrapbooking techniques it truly has become a form of art. Even with all this new hype though, there are some basic design principals that every scrapbook needs and most certainly some essential elements to your scrapbook layout to make it look great. Let’s look at some of those design principals and essential elements.
Design Principals to a Scrapbook Layout
•Every scrapbook page (whether you like it or not) needs to have a focal point; a place on the page where you want the most attention. It’s the place where your eye moves to first. After you have chosen your focal point you can then choose other pictures to compliment that one focal point.
•Always follow the rule of thirds when you are designing your scrapbook page. It’s as true with layouts as it is with photography. Think of your page as a grid that is divided into three parts both horizontally and vertically. Your focal point will and should be on the convergence of these lines.
•Another basic design principal is to always consider the size of your elements on the page. Why, you ask? Well in order to maintain balance on your scrapbook page you need to always consider the size of your elements in relation to your pictures.
•Repetition of colors, shapes, or other elements on the page is a good thing. When someone looks at your scrapbook they like to see the same sorts of patterns or colors just portrayed differently.
Essential Elements of a Scrapbook Layout
These next few essential elements to a layout will come as no surprise to most of you but still need to be emphasized now and again. The following three things are probably the most important things to have on your page when it comes to scrapbook layout.
1.Pictures. Well duh, right! Of course when it comes to scrapbooking one of the most important things to have on your page layout is the picture or pictures. And now that we have that clear let’s say a few more things about the picture. It sometimes can be difficult to choose the right photos to put on your page, so in order to help you here are some things to look for. Don’t choose photos that have been taken at weird angles or are fuzzy. They make the page look unbalanced to a viewer. You will also want to choose photos that go with your color scheme; in fact choosing your color scheme should come before choosing your photos.
2.A title. Some may think that the title isn’t that important to a scrapbook page, but they’re wrong. A title gives its viewer an idea as to what the pictures are about without actually reading everything on the page. A title can say a million words without actually using a million words.
3.Journaling. This last one is probably the most important part of a great layout (besides the picture itself) page. There are a lot of scrapbookers that either forget or neglect to do their journaling and it can really leave your page empty. Journaling is the story behind the picture and can be done quickly and easily. You can do lists, agendas, poems, quotes, or a full story.
Every scrapbooker will have different design techniques they like but most will always know that these essential elements and design principals will create great scrapbook layouts.