1. I select photos and make a sketch. I use sketches by others, but most of the time I select photos and sketch what I want to do with the photos. Here's one I did recently. The sketch (sorry for the bad scan):
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And the layout (click on images to see them bigger):
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(Confessions: this was for my American Crafts design team application.)
2. I have a line span the two pages. I love strips of patterned paper, so having some connect the two pages works for me. Lots of people commented on doing something like this to create two pages.
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3. I connect the pages with a line of photos. I'm a linear gal, so lining up photos across the pages is an easy choice to make.
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Here's some older ones with a line of photos:
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4. I balance embellishments across the pages. Another piece of advice people commented on. I am a slave to the visual triangle, so I often use that on a two-page spread. I tend to put those embellishments by the title, the journaling, and the important photo.
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5. I arrange my layout in a mini-block. This is a layout design I'm using fairly consistently on an occasional project I started at last year's Big Idea Festival called 100 Moments. I trim photos to fit into a block, and I fill space with patterned paper. I used patterned paper to "bookend" the photo block either on top on bottom.
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Much of what I do was reflected in some way by what readers wrote. Here's a master list (Some comments doubled each other; I tended to only include the advice once, unless it had a slight nuance to it. Judgment call.):
- Have fun and don’t worry about the layouts looking the same
- Use a sketch or copy someone else!
- Create a visual triangle spanning two pages
- Mirror something from the left side to the right in opposite ends of the page span
- Think of it and work on it as a big one-page layout.
- Only use your favorite photos and use those to pick your embellishments
- If using a one-page sketch as inspiration, mirror or flip it to make it two pages.
- Use something—a large shape, a strip of paper—to span both pages
- Use patterned paper to “jump the gutter”
- Use an odd number of photos in various sizes
- Arrange photos in a “c” in any direction to draw the eyes across the page
- Select papers first, then photos, then a sketch. Use embellishments last to fill spots
- Just do it!
- Stick to one pagers—ha!
- Start with a good story
- Have fun
- Make it flow from left to right
- Make the eye-catching elements flow across the page like a backwards 6 (learned from newspaper design)
- Combine two one-page sketches to make a two-page sketch
- Do something symmetrical on both pages
- Use similar color or embellishments on both sides to add continuity
- Start with the photos and two pieces of white paper to work out the placement
- Balance photos, colors, and embellishments
- Connect the pages with a line
- Scraplift the heck out of people!
- Use a design element to tie the two pages together
- Look at magazine spreads for design inspiration
And here's something sad: I wanted to add three more just to make it an even 30! That explains a lot about how I scrap, LOL!
1 comment:
Oh, I so struggle with 2-pagers. Once I discovered Allison and Debbie's sketches, it's the only way I can do a 2-pager anymore. But I love your advice! Great tips I can deploy if a sketch book isn't handy. :)
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