Informal balance in visual design

Informal balance: when /if you are balancing dissimilar characteristics you are balancing your design informally.
Informal balance is much more a “ judgment call” it is more difficult to verify appearance of informal balance and therefore it is more “risky” to build your design on informal balance. Designer has to possess impeccable sense of harmony to balance design informally, otherwise it is quite possible that accomplished design will look just poorly balanced or not balanced at all. Using our previous metaphor of scale : parts of your scale could be very equalized if even you are scaling dissimilar substance: cotton and iron, for example. Design wise speaking , by managing smaller segments with heavier elements and bigger segments with lighter elements it is easy to produce an appearance of equilibrium.

When you have different amount of dissimilar elements in the left and right , and/or in the top and bottom half of your design you have to use formal balance. Informal balance is achieved if/when despite obvious unlikeness of elements integrated in different parts of composition visual effect of equilibrium is obvious. Informal balance is always asymmetrical.