How to Balance Brand Designs with Scale, Size, and Proportion

Having a compelling and aesthetically pleasing brand design is essential for a successful business. The beauty of brand design is that various elements can be used to create a cohesive whole that reflects the company’s values, mission, and identity.

However, as businesses grow and evolve, their designs must adapt as well. This can be a challenge, especially when it comes to keeping the brand design proportional and balanced. The key is to strike a balance between three key elements: scale, size, and proportion.

Scale vs. Size vs. Proportion

Before we deep dive into how to achieve balance in brand design, it’s important to understand the difference between scale, size, and proportion.

• Scale: This refers to the relationship between two or more elements. In brand design, scale can be used to create visual contrast and emphasis.
• Size: This is a measure of how big or small an element is. In brand design, size is often used to create hierarchy.
• Proportion: This is the ratio of one element to another. In brand design, proportion is often used to create visual balance.

The Importance of Scale, Size, and Proportion

Scale, size, and proportion each have roles to play in brand design. When used correctly, they can create a visually appealing and effective design.

As we mentioned, scale can be used to create visual contrast and emphasis. This is essential because it helps you draw attention to the most important parts of your design.

Size, on the other hand, is often used to create hierarchy. In design, hierarchy is important because it helps the viewer understand what to pay attention to first, second, third, and so on. Hierarchy is also important for SEO because it helps search engines understand the structure of your site.

Proportion, finally, is used to create an aesthetic balance. A well-balanced design feels harmonious and pleasing to look at. It also makes your design easier to read and navigate.

8 Tips for Making Your Brand Designs More Balanced

How do you balance these three elements when you’re designing for a business that’s constantly changing and growing? Let’s take a look at some tips.

1. Use grids and frameworks

Grids and frameworks are an effective way to organize your design elements and create balance in your designs. A grid is a series of horizontal and vertical lines that you can use to align your elements. A framework is a predefined set of rules that you can use to arrange your elements.

Grids and frameworks are particularly helpful when you’re working with multiple design elements. For example, if you’re creating a flyer or a website, you can use a grid to make sure that all of your elements are properly aligned.

2. Follow the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a composition guideline that suggests dividing your design into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This creates nine equal sections, which you can use to position your elements.

The rule of thirds is a great way to achieve balance in your brand designs because it evenly distributes your elements. To do this, simply align your elements with the gridlines. For example, you could position your logo in the top left section, your headline in the top right section, and your call-to-action button in the bottom.

3. Scale your elements

Scaling your elements is a great way to create visual contrast and emphasis. One way to do this is to use different sizes for your elements. For example, you might use a small icon to draw attention to a call-to-action button. Or you might use a large font size for your company name and a smaller font size for your tagline.

Another way to scale your elements is to use different weights. Weight refers to the thickness of a line. You can use different weights for your text, lines, and shapes to create visual contrast. For example, you might use a thick font weight for your headline and a thin font weight for your body copy.

4. Set size limits

Another way to make sure your designs stay balanced is to set size limits for your elements. This means that you’ll need to determine the minimum and maximum size for each element in your design.

For example, you might decide that your logo can be no smaller than 50 pixels wide and no larger than 100 pixels wide. This will ensure that your logo always appears at a readable size, regardless of the device it’s being viewed on.

5. Mind your proportions

A proportional design is one where all of the elements are in harmony with each other. To achieve this, you’ll need to pay attention to the size, spacing, and alignment of your elements.

For example, you might make sure that your headlines are always twice as large as your body copy. Or you might make sure that there’s an equal amount of space between all of your design elements.

6. Use hierarchy and alignment

Hierarchy is the way in which you order your design elements from the most important to the least important. You can use hierarchy to create balance by making sure that your most important elements are given more emphasis than your less important elements.

One way to create hierarchy is to use alignment. This means that you’ll need to arrange your elements in a deliberate way, such as lining them up on one side or centering them on the page. By aligning your elements, you can create a sense of order and balance in your designs.

7. Use visual cues

You can also use visual cues to create balance in your brand designs. Visual cues are elements that guide the viewer’s eye around the design.

There are many different types of visual cues, but some of the most popular ones are white space, color, and texture:

• White space (neutral space) refers to the empty space in your design. You can use whitespace to create visual balance by making sure that there’s an equal amount of space around all of your elements.
• Color can be used to create visual emphasis as well as contrast. For example, you might use similar color schemes in one part of the design to create a sense of harmony. Or you might use contrasting colors to make certain elements pop.
• Texture can also be used to create visual interest and contrast. For example, you might use a rough texture for your background and a smooth texture for your foreground images.

8. Use symmetry and asymmetry

Symmetry is when your design elements are arranged in an orderly, mirror-like way. Asymmetry is when your design elements are arranged in an unbalanced way.

You can use symmetry to create a sense of stability and balance in your designs. For example, you might use symmetrical alignment to line up your logo and tagline on one side of the page. Or you might use symmetry to create a mirror image of your design.

Asymmetry, on the other hand, can be used to create visual interest and contrast. For example, you might use asymmetrical alignment to offset your logo and tagline. Or you might use an asymmetrical layout to create a more dynamic design.

Wrapping It Up

There are many sets of rules that can be applied for a more cohesive and balanced brand design, but it’s important to remember that these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. The most important thing is to experiment and find what works best for you and your brand.

For more brand design tips, check out our blog at https://www.ilfusion.com/blog!