Design Nomenclature / Composition
Asymmetry
Also called asymmetric balance, asymmetrical balance, dynamic balance
- Composition
- Type
- 2D & 3D
This entry has not been translated yet and is shown in English.
Composition without correspondence across an axis, balanced instead by trading weight against distance — a small dense element far from centre against a large quiet one near it. It costs more judgment than symmetry and returns more hierarchy, which is the trade the New Typography made explicit.
Not to be confused with
- SymmetryCorrespondence of parts across an axis, a centre, or a translation. As a compositional principle it buys immediate stability and reads as order, formality, or stillness; it also flattens hierarchy, since parts that mirror each other cannot easily rank each other. Vertical-axis symmetry is detected fastest.
- BalanceThe distribution of visual weight about an axis or a centre so that no part of the field seems to fall. It is judged, not measured. Bilateral balance works across an axis, radial balance around a point, asymmetrical balance by trading a small dense element against a large quiet one.