What Is the Principle of Scale & How Should You Apply It In Graphic Design?

What is Scale in Graphic Design?

Scale refers to the relative size of an element in a design when compared to another element. It is responsible for creating a visual hierarchy among elements of your creation. It tells viewers what things to look at, what order to look at them, and what’s the most important element to focus on.

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We can create scale within a design by making relationships based on size between elements. For example, if two shapes of the same size were placed on a page there would be no size relationship. Since they would be the same size, neither one would be large or small. However, if one of the squares was a third of the size of the other, we would describe one as being big and the other as small. This is called scale of reference. It is impossible to determine the relative size of an object if there is no scale of reference.

What is the Difference Between Scale & Proportion?

Many people may use the terms scale and proportion interchangeably. The main difference between scale and proportion is that scale refers to a comparison of objects whose size is known, and proportion refers to the size of two object whose sizes and scales are unknown. Proportion in graphic design is a little more ambiguous and difficult to explain, while scale can point to two objects and confirm the size relationship between the two, providing proportion.

It is important to consider both scale and proportion when determining a focal point in graphic design. If you’re creating an infographic, designing a logo, or putting a website together, the scale of visual elements is hugely important. The largest visual element in a design isn’t always the most important. Designers and artists can use scale to draw contrast, highlight tension between elements, and create a visual hierarchy that draws the eye. When something within a design is displayed prominently in relation to other elements of that design, our eyes are naturally drawn to it.

How Scale Impacts Design

Scale shapes the world of design by regulating a project’s relativity, functionality, and adaptability.

• Relativity.
  Scale refers to how one aspect of the project relates to everything around it. In order to understand this aspect of scale, the designer must determine which relationships matter to the project. If a graphic designer is creating a print ad with a person standing next to a car, the two should be scaled appropriately so that the person is not huge while the car is tiny. However, relativity can be used for effect in this way, a designer trying to emphasize the portability of something might make it appear tiny when compared to a normal sized person. An art director may tell a designer that a brand’s logo keeps getting lost in ads; it’s up to the designer to adjust the scale so that the logo has a more prominent role in the visual hierarchy.
• Functionality.
  Functionality is key for a graphic designer who is creating an infographic. The performance of the infographic design depends on whether it’s able to functionally deliver information to a target audience. If you’re making an infographic that explains a complex topic and your intended audience is 10-year-old children, consider how you’re using scale to highlight concepts. If you want kids to understand the graphic, consider how the text relates to the graphics that illustrate the concept.
• Adaptability.
  Designers with an efficient grasp of how scale affects adaptability will look for ways a project can operate on multiple scales and how to perfect that adaptation. Where ads are concerned, a designer who has created a successful print ad may need to scale that ad to work on a billboard or within the confines of an online banner ad. Similar consideration should be given to logo treatments that may need to be scaled up or down based on where they appear.

Scale is a powerful element of graphic design that can be transformative to your designs. The most critical aspect of a design or composition may not be the biggest, but it will appear on top of a visual hierarchy created by scale.