PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN 55
BALANCE

Balance is as fundamental in the visual arts as it is in life itself.
Moreover it is so simple that almost anyone can understand that
a feeling of steadiness, repose, and balance is the result of the equal-
ization of attractions on either side of a central point. Balance
must be attained in color, texture, pattern, and light as well as in
weight.

Formal balance results when objects of equal weight are placed
on each side and at equal distances from the center; when they
are identical the balance is symmetrical.

Informal, occult, or asymmetrical balance results when objects
are arranged so that a large one near the center balances a small
one farther away from the center, like a large boy and a small boy
on a teeter totter. There are many variations of informal balance.

Formal balance is a matter of the intellect; informal balance, of
the intellect plus the feelings. Informal balance is more creative
than the formal, because there are no rules to guide one in produc-
ing it. Formal balance is less difficult and less subtle, and also more
passive, than informal balance. The fireplaces in the pictures on
page 210 illustrate formal balance and informal balance.

The exterior design of certain types of houses, such as the Eng-
lish Georgian, the Colonial, and other descendants of the Italian
Renaissance, expresses dignity and reserve through the use of for-
mal balance. Early English, Norman French, some Mediterranean,
some Modern, and rambling ranch houses express friendliness and
hospitality through informal balance. See page 190 for illustrations
of these qualities.

The type of balance present in the interiors of houses helps to
^determine the emotional effects created. Formal balance in a room
naturally creates an air of formality. Therefore it is not the effect
usually desired in a simple or small room or home, or in any place
that should have a gay, young, or casual air. Formal interior archi-
tecture usually requires some formality in furniture arrangement

Balance is by far the most important principle employed in fur-
niture arrangement. The halves of each single wall should usually
be equally weighted with furniture or windows or doors. Op-
posite walls should be balanced against one another.