by Debbie Hodge

Unity in scrapbook page design

Unity refers to how the parts of a design come together as a whole. If the elements on a scrapbook page look like they belong together (as opposed to having been collected and placed randomly) you have unity. In the quest for a design with unity, the WHOLE design is more important than any element or grouping in it.

Including repetitions is a good way to work toward achieving unity on a page

Repetition is an awesome tool for creating unity on a page—or in any work of art. Think about the recurrences of stormy weather in Wuthering Heights, of debt in the novels of Charles Dickens, and of smoke (from pipes, cigars, gas lamps, and, finally, of the fire) in Citizen Kane.

Think about that thrill you get when watching a movie or reading a book – and some image or key behavior reappears – and you say: “Oh, yes! I knew that was going to happen-”? BUT you didn’t totally know, you just knew when you saw it that it was right. It was surprising but not unexpected.

Cover Illustration by Fritz Eichenberg for 1943
edition of Wuthering Heights shows Heathcliff
with his stormy soul out in the stormy
weather. (Source: Flickr / JoulesVintage)

Repetitions with variety are the key

Repetition without some variety can (and probably will) be dull. The design challenge, then, is to think about how to change something while keeping it the same. For example, Emily Bronte put that storm in both the weather and in Heathcliff’s soul. Ways to get repetition with variety on the scrapbook page include:

• repeating an image or shape in different colors.
• repeating an image or shape in different sizes.
• repeating a color in different elements (i.e., alphas, ribbon, mats).
• using a variety of tones of the same color
• repeating a motif in different styles

Repetitions of color

Color is the primary repetition on “Jolly Hike,” with lots of green showing up in several different kinds of elements–beginning with the grass in the photos. I created a visual triangle if 3 very strong spots of green in: 1) the title, 2) the leaves bleeding off the right side of the page, and 3) the chicken down at bottom left. There are also minor repetitions of pinks and yellows, but I made sure the points of green were bigger and more interesting than those bits of pink and yellow so that the viewer’s eye wasn’t confused and led through the page by them instead.

Repetitions in texture

On “A Boy and a Kite,” I’ve repeated paint strokes in a variety of colors and in variety of forms.

• There are blue blocks backing up the photos and acting as a foundation layer.
• There are pink strokes edging the white mat, especially at the corners.
• There are multi-colored flower-shaped strokes moving diagonally through the page from top left to top right.
• While the distressed edges on the blue canvas are not “strokes,” their line and feel is yet another repetition of the textures here.

Repetitions in shape

shape: in embellishments

On “Rabbit Rabbit Hare Hare,” I’ve included rings and circles :

• chipboard rings (painted brown) and circling: 1) my son’s initial; and 2) the “1” that represents the first day of the month
• a punched tag that says “Good Memories” (notice how this is backed up with a slightly larger brown circle which ends up looking like a ring and creating the third point in a visual triangle of brown rings)
• on three different strips of patterned paper which border the page at top and bottom (and even the circles in these patterned papers are surrounded by or include dots)
• the brad alphas spelling “July”

shape: lines

Notice the repetitions of “scallops” on “Change of  Plans.”

• there is scalloped-edged paper backing up the block of green paper
• the pompom ribbon has a scalloped shape at the bottom
• the pieces of lace are scalloped along the bottom
• the postage-stamp frame includes a reverse scallop edging

shape: page foundation

On “Fortunate,” the page layout is based upon a grid design with repetitions:

• There are narrow strips of patterned paper at top and bottom.
• there are three equally-sized columns for organizing photos and journaling.
• Within each column there are three rectangles containing journaling and photos.

Conceptual/themed repetitions

Sometimes your repetitions will be around a concept—for example when you’re making a themed page, you might find yourself collecting different images that are related by subject. On “Happy Halloween,” I included words, images, and colors that all connote Halloween: the bat, the monster, the word “boo,” and the blacks, golds, and purples.

Repetitions in motif

Combining images of the same thing but in different styles and formats is a great idea for getting repetitions with variety onto your scrapbook pages—and creating unity along the way. “Awesome Sight” is a page about my Dad, who loves the outdoors but who can no longer move freely to enjoy it. He does, though, love his birdfeeders and looking at his birds!  There’s a little sticker bird, a larger die-cut bird, and a collaged bird.

So what kind of repetitions are you already using? Are there some “formulas” or tried-and-true approaches you find yourself using frequently. Tell us about them – link us up to your pages.

P.S. Look for Lesson #4 in your inbox in a few days!

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