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Design shares a lot of similarities with music.
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Just like designers, musicians also use contrast trick. Which can be a contrast between the high notes
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and low notes, between going fast and going slow.
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They also use repetition, which is the rhythm of the song.
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They even use whitespace, which are pauses and silent parts of the music.
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One more technique these two fields share is called tension. In music
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that's when melody starts to pick up, and it's kind of adds to the momentum, and then becomes a bit
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more dramatic, and at some point kind of explodes in this culmination.
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And for example in techno music, it's kind of going to this very heavy rhythm.
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Tension is something that makes any creative work interesting. And it's used in other fields besides
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design and music.
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For example, in fiction tension is called suspense. So, how is tension created in design?
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This is a square laid flat on the surface, in complete balance and in centre alignment.
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There is no tension here at all.
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Nothing is happening.
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No drama.
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It's solid and grounded.
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How about now?
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This is a different story, isn't it?
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The square is not laying flat anymore.
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It's standing on its corner, which seems like either it's going to tip over or fall back on the flat
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side. With a simple tilt,
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we have created a lot of tension. Tilting elements is one way to create that tension.
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There is more. You can move elements to the edge of the frame.
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Or move elements out of balance.
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Or hide parts of the object.
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This is something we've already played with as part of the Extreme Cropping.
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The tension is one of the reasons why Extreme Cropping is such an interesting trick to use.
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And if the Extreme Crop is uneven, like this movie poster it increases the tension even more.
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Remember the rule of thirds? Tension is exactly why this rule works really well. When objects in
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dead center feel stable and a little boring,
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off-balance placement can create more visually interesting look.
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Overlapping is another way to create tension.
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Overlapping does have other merits, like adding extra dimension because objects are layered on top of
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each other. Or because interlocking elements tie the design together. But it also adds tension because
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two objects are now interacting with each other in a very interesting way.
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One way to create tension and movement in design is by using diagonal, or angled shapes.
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This sort of tension is very useful when you want to portray speed and movement in your design.
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Why do diagonal shapes create tension and movement is very easy to demonstrate.
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This is a still image. But we can feel that circle about to roll down.
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That's how angles add the feeling of movement in design.