Tuesday, February 19, 2008

February 19 - Design Basics Lesson #7

Hello and welcome. This is my 7th lesson in my own exploration of Design Basics. I am using the book Design Basics Index by Jim Krause. He has the best book!! See the list along the right side of my blog where you can access all the lessons if you are interested! Lesson #7 - Harmony by VISUAL ECHO. This is actually a continuation of my last lesson. In that lesson, I read that it was possible to create harmony (or agreement between elements) by using the background paper and borrowing the same colors and design in the entire card. You can check it out HERE. Today, I am continuing working with Harmony through VISUAL ECHO, however, today my focus is on echoed TEXT and echoed STYLE. On my first cards, I designed a very pretty purple card with elegant flowers in the same purple. However, on one card (the one on the left) I have used a plain serif style text. This text does not match the elegance of the card!! However, on the other card (the right) I have used a more script and italisized font which is more elegant and matches the style of the card better. What do you think? Do you think the card on the right looks more harmonious?? On this second card, I am looking at Harmony and Visual Echo by considering the style of the elements. The card on the left features an image of a little cute fish with a relaxed sentiment - a simple "hi". These elements match the cute colored circles of the backgroud paper. However, the card on the right shows a very elegant bird flying gracefully through the air and a very fancy sentiment "Bonjour". These elements do not appear to match the simple and basic background paper as well as the other image. I am sure that this is probably a personal preference but I really think the cute little fishy matches the background much better than the fancy bird!!! What do you think?? Supplies: Cardstock-Whisper White, Orchid Opulance (SU), Dark Green (Bazzil); Designer paper- (Provo Craft); Ink-Basic Black, Orchid Opulance (SU); Stamps-Carte Postale, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Fishy Friends (all SU), Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink); Accessories-ribbon (Michaels dollar bin). I hope you enjoyed this lesson as much as I did. Off to create more cards using visual echo. Thanks for visiting. Donelda

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another winning lesson. The first two cards are a good example. The second purple card sentiment is very good for the mood. The little flower thingy also adds to it. As to the second group, the fish works well, but I like the layout of the layer with the bow orientation on the second example. I'm really enjoying these lessons. Thanks.

Marjorie said...

Wow these lessons are pretty neat! In the set of purple cards I actually thought they both looked great and was even leaning toward the first card :D The first one just seemed more whimsical or eclectic to me. I really caught on with the second example though. Great lesson!

Anonymous said...

i love reading your lessons, and i am learning alot. i think this lesson works better with your 1st example.. the 2nd example i think the bird works better.. but like you said its more of a personal prefernce on this one. i cant wait for the next lesson! keep up the awesome work.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for another great lesson, Donelda!

Unknown said...

THANKS FOR THE LESSON GREAT STUFF AS USUAL!

Anonymous said...

Isn't funny how many of these design 'rules' we follow subconsciously? We know something doesn't look right, but aren't always sure why?

These cards are great examples, and simply great cards, too!

Deb said...

Yes, it does work, I think it is important to match your image and text to your background, although on odd occasions you can get away with a mix of styles. I tend to stick with matching styles!