Page Design

1. There is so much information about how to design pages. I will share with you what I have heard and read and then you may decide. My personal preference is the 50 Video Scrapbook Classes With Pizazz on CD currently included with our sales items. Here are some of the basics.
2. Once you determine which photos, etc. you will be using for your page determine the mood of the photos. Your papers and embellishment should be in harmony with the mood of your photos. For example you wouldn't create a whimsical background for a formal wedding or heritage photos. Likewise you wouldn't put junior with the bowl of spaghetti over his entire body on an elegant, formal page.
3. Papers and embellishment colors may be chosen to match the primary colors in the photos, the background, or the mood. For instance if the family is wearing an assortment of colors and standing before trees that have lost their leaves for the winter you may still want to choose fall papers and embellishments even if there are no fall colors in the pictures. If the page is all about Jenny and she is dressed primarily in pink then you may want to choose primarily pink backgrounds or if it is about Jenny's gorgeous blue eyes then stick with shades of blue.
4. Mat and place the primary picture to draw attention to it first. You may want to double mat, use a wider mat, or a fancier mat. Don't attach anything to the page(s) until you are satisfied with the overall layout. Pictures and embellishments should be arranged in a way that leads the eye into the center of the layout.
5. Most frequently designers will tell you to keep things in threes. This can be done with three similar embellishments or by dividing the page into thirds. Some will tell you to create a visual triangle while others will tell you to create a Z. I like to create my pages so they feel balanced to me and sometimes so they feel a little off balance. I don't always do what the designers say I ought to. Your album is a gift to your posterity about you, your family, and your perceptions. Unless you are planning on focusing on winning contests you need to do what you like in a way that tells your story and your personality. Often contest winning pages look very similar to one another in layout style and feature only one picture. This is about your creativity and pleasing you so just do that and don't worry about it. If you wait to adhere photos and embellishments to the page until after you have determined your layout you should be fairly satisfied with the finished product. If you make a mistake and you don't like it you can easily change it. Relax! Have Fun! Go YOUR creative, not someone else's. How creative is it to follow someone else's design specifications. Certainly Picasso and Monet did not and you are creating your own masterpiece! Balance is very important and when it is balanced to you it is balanced perfectly!