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Enhanching User Experience Using Symmetry

Using Symmetry in Design Can Enhance User Experience. Balance is important in “all walks of life”. For instance,the right balances of features help make a human face attractive. On the other hand, maintaining balance in workand our personal life contributes to living a happier and productive life. Balance is also a desirable characteristic ofa design composition. A balanced design not just looks aesthetically pleasing but also gives better control over thedesign structure.

What’s more?

Proper balance in design helps in improving the quality of visual communication and in making the viewer’s eyefocus on places – we want them to show in a design.

Wondering how you can create a sense of balance in your web designs? You can do so by using symmetry inyour design. In this post, we’ll talk about symmetry: its significance, types and a few tips on maintaining it in theright way.

Symmetry and its types?

It is a fundamental design principle that shows the balance between two or more opposing sides. Symmetryrefers to the arrangement of well-proportioned and balanced elements in a design.

Though there are several types of symmetry, but the most significant ones are bilateral (or reflection), radial (orrotational) and translational symmetry. Each of the three types of symmetry can be used to improve visual stabilityin a design. Let us now take a look at each of the types one by one:

1. Reflection Symmetry

The most common type of symmetry is the Reflection symmetry (also known as bilateral or line symmetry). Itresults in producing “mirror” effect, of an object having two sides.The best example of reflection symmetry we can think of is a butterfly, simply because one-half of a butterfly is amirror image of the other half.

This is an image of a butterfly; now let us fold one sideof the butterfly as shown below:

In the above image, you can see that the right and lefthalves mirror around a vertical central axis, whichrepresents the two matching sides of the butterfly.

Apart from the vertical direction, reflection symmetrycan take on a diagonal direction or anything in between.

In web designs, reflection symmetry can be used togroup rows of related elements, helping website usersto locate similar elements from the website in an easyand pleasant way, which greatly enhances the user experience.

2. Rotational Symmetry

Rotational symmetry (also referred to as radial symmetry) is when an object is rotated around a center point. In

this type of symmetry, an object is turned in equidistant increments, however, it looks exactly the same the way itdid in its original position. A few examples of rotational symmetry used inweb designs are signs, design patterns, letters, etc.

When you rotate a shape in a circular movement (i.e. 360°), you can create rotational symmetries of order 1, order2, order 3 and order 4.

In web design, rotational symmetry can be used to represent motion or speed. In addition, it also portrays dynamicaction.

3. Translational Symmetry

Translational symmetry is when an object is moved (forward or backward) in different areas of space but maintainits exact orientation. As shown in the example below, we’ve moved squares several times from background to theforeground, and the squares appears to increase in size as we come closer to them, which creates a sense ofmotion and movement.

In this example, the squares aremoved at equal intervals. However, itis not necessary to relocate theobjects at equal intervals, but they onlyneed to be placed proportionally.

Tips on Using Symmetry inDesign

# Tip 1 – Use Line Symmetry forPortfolio or Photography Websites –As we had discussed above, line (orreflection) symmetry is good forgrouping similar elements. Since portfolio and photography sites mainly focus on displaying images or artwork of

same order and size, using line symmetry helps in your design will make your work look aesthetically pleasing tovisitors’ eye.

# Tip 2 – Use Rotational Symmetry to Portray Motion and Action – Rotational symmetry can help simulatemovement and action in an otherwise flat or static design. And thus, guide website users to progress in performingany specific task or make a further movement.

# Tip 3 – Use Translational Symmetry for Creating a Design Layout – Placing pieces of content (like text orimages) of almost same size and spreading them across the website design while maintaining enough space is agreat way to help identify what they want to locate in any particular web page. This can be achieved throughtranslational symmetry that often uses grid layout systems, so as to structure a page layout to maintain balanceand proportion.

Wrapping Up!

Symmetry is a powerful design tool that helps in creating a design having properly balanced elements that makethe design look visually appealing to visitors’ eye. Put it simply, using symmetry in designs makes them moreorganized and easy to understand, which results in enhancing user’s experience.