Design shares a lot of similarities with music. 1
Just like designers, musicians also use contrast trick. Which can be a contrast between the high notes 2
and low notes, between going fast and going slow. 3
They also use repetition, which is the rhythm of the song. 4
They even use whitespace, which are pauses and silent parts of the music. 5
One more technique these two fields share is called tension. In music 6
that's when melody starts to pick up, and it's kind of adds to the momentum, and then becomes a bit 7
more dramatic, and at some point kind of explodes in this culmination. 8
And for example in techno music, it's kind of going to this very heavy rhythm. 9
Tension is something that makes any creative work interesting. And it's used in other fields besides 10
design and music. 11
For example, in fiction tension is called suspense. So, how is tension created in design? 12
This is a square laid flat on the surface, in complete balance and in centre alignment. 13
There is no tension here at all. 14
Nothing is happening. 15
No drama. 16
It's solid and grounded. 17
How about now? 18
This is a different story, isn't it? 19
The square is not laying flat anymore. 20
It's standing on its corner, which seems like either it's going to tip over or fall back on the flat 21
side. With a simple tilt, 22
we have created a lot of tension. Tilting elements is one way to create that tension. 23
There is more. You can move elements to the edge of the frame. 24
Or move elements out of balance. 25
Or hide parts of the object. 26
This is something we've already played with as part of the Extreme Cropping. 27
The tension is one of the reasons why Extreme Cropping is such an interesting trick to use. 28
And if the Extreme Crop is uneven, like this movie poster it increases the tension even more. 29
Remember the rule of thirds? Tension is exactly why this rule works really well. When objects in 30
dead center feel stable and a little boring, 31
off-balance placement can create more visually interesting look. 32
Overlapping is another way to create tension. 33
Overlapping does have other merits, like adding extra dimension because objects are layered on top of 34
each other. Or because interlocking elements tie the design together. But it also adds tension because 35
two objects are now interacting with each other in a very interesting way. 36
One way to create tension and movement in design is by using diagonal, or angled shapes. 37
This sort of tension is very useful when you want to portray speed and movement in your design. 38
Why do diagonal shapes create tension and movement is very easy to demonstrate. 39
This is a still image. But we can feel that circle about to roll down. 40
That's how angles add the feeling of movement in design.