Page 295 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 08 11/20/02 12:50 PM Page 284
284 The Creative Training Idea Book

Informal
Formal
Balance Balance

FIGURE 8-3. Formal Balance FIGURE 8-4. Informal Balance

balance (pictures or more information on one side than the other, as in Figure 8-4).
When you use only a balanced format, your images can become boring or monotonous
because everything appears the same. This is because items are equally matched or dis-
played on the page so that the attention of your learners is not drawn one way or the
other. To achieve such a balance, you would use an equivalent sized image on the left
and right side or at the top and bottom of the page.
Unlike the balanced image, an informal perspective is achieved by having only one
image placed on the page without a corresponding one opposite it. The effect is that
the eyes of your participants are drawn to the image. This is one of the reasons stated
earlier for ensuring that any image used in your material should have a purpose and
compliment written messages. You want your learners to be aware of the image sub-
consciously and not to consciously have to focus on it to try to figure out how it applies
to the message being presented.

BRIGHT I DEA
Maintaining Balance
o get the feel of formal and informal balance and what the concepts look like on
Tyour flipchart, draw and cut out a variety of images and shapes that you may want
to continually use in the future (e.g., smile faces, boxes, rectangles, simple people
figures, or whatever, such as those in the Tools for Trainers section in the appendices).