Welcome to the the third installment of Make a Page Monday. This week's page celebrates a recent sporty milestone in my adult-onset athletic life. It's also officially my new favorite page of all-time for this particular week. Wanna see?
(click on the layout to see it larger in a new window)
SIZE/MODE: 2-page 8.5 x 11 hybrid spread
THE STORY: I ran my second 5K in September. The first one, back in July, was purely to say, "There! I did it!" but this one? This was all about proving I belonged out there. I went in with a time goal and I was determined to reach it. Not that I have any illusions of being some sort of Sprinty McSprinster, but I want to know that I can run a bit faster than I do when I'm just out for workout runs. I was lucky to get a good finish line shot (which cost me 20 bucks! ouch!) but combined with my other shots from Cole's point and shoot which I secretly borrowed for the morning, I had enough visual documentation to make the page. This page makes me very, very happy and reminds me of all that I love about this hobby. Photos and words and not a lot else, save for a tidy design.
JOURNALING READS: My neighbor and running buddy (and friend) Angela suggested in early September, “You should run Women Run the Cities with me!” and it seemed like the perfect idea. Without hesitation, I signed up online and started mentally planning for perhaps the most important choice of the day: my outfit. With my inaugural race already under my belt from last July, this race was about one thing: speed, baby. Angela and I both agreed: this is not a buddy, chatty outing. We both had a personal 5K time we wanted to beat. My goal was to run under 30 minutes. On race morning, it was in the low 40s and chilly willy. Angela’s daughters both ran the 1 mile fun run before our race started. I made a mix the night before that combined every single fast pace song from all of my other run mixes. I figured it would give me a kick and it totally did. I took off faster than I’ve ever started any runs before. Even Angela was all, “Why are you going so fast?” Finally, at about the 2-mile mark, a twinge of a side stitch crept in, and I slowed down a bit. Angela had a lot more kick at the end, and sailed past. We both were pretty psyched about our times. However, pushing that pace left me pretty much sore for a week. That’s running in your mid-40s after years of smoking and watching television for you, right? Still, I was thrilled with the outcome. Next year? It’s all about the 10-mile event. Aw yeah.
Let's break down the design goodness of this two-page spread.
1. Asymmetrical balance: If you divide this design down the gutter, what you have on the left takes up a decidedly different amount of space than what you have on the right. One full page chunk of visual information (the big black and white photo) is paired with four smaller photos, a title and some journaling on the right. These things are not the same in terms of the visual space they occupy. This approach to balance is known as asymmetry. Asymmetry uses different things to create a sense of balance. Often with asymmetrically balanced pages, many other design principles are working together to add to the balanced and purposeful feel.
2. Repetition (including a Visual Triangle): When you repeat things, you create a predictable rhythm to a design. Here, I've repeated a shape (the small, square photos; I've repeated a small, hot pink rectangle that includes similar PNG word art; the color pink is repeated in the rectangles, the title and even in the photos. When you repeat three things in a purposeful way across a spread or given space, it is called a visual triangle. Notice the diagram below showing the hot pink color being repeated in a triangular relationship. I decided to make my title hot pink just to create this visual link across the spread. Repetition ties designs together.
3. The principle of emphasis: Big things call attention to themselves in design. Here, one full page, full bleed (edge to edge) photo says, "HEY! Look here first!" When you create emphasis through size on a scrapbook page, you guide the viewing experience. Start at the biggest, most dominant element, then move on from there. Emphasis is also called contrast. Constrast in design creates visual tension, but this is a good kind of tension. It creates a page with more drama and excitement. Go drama!
4. The use of white space: A little white space makes almost everything feel better. Even though I've got a big photo and a big chunk of journaling, the open space above the title and to the right of the journaling creates a more inviting design. It adds a bit of much needed air, and gives the whole design just a little more breathing room. Not all space must be filled up to create a pleasing layout.
Here is a basic sketch you can download to keep in your scrapbooking files. The sketches are on 8.5 x 11 paper for easy printing.
Note: 12 x 12 scrapbookers can adapt the design to fit their space.
cardstock—OP White by Bazzill Basics
photo paper—Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl
digital brush set—Road Race by Cathy Zielske
font—Gill Sans (to match the Women Run the Cities logo!)
software—Photoshop Elements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I created my page using Adobe InDesign (to typeset my journaling and size my photos), and good old fashioned cardstock and photo paper. However the template is also available from Designer Digitals as a fully layered two-page file and is on sale until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
You can use this template to create your own hybrid version. For example, type your title and journaling, then turn off all of the other layers to print onto your choice of cardstock. Then, trim four photos to size to complete the design.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave 'em and I'll do my best to answer.
