I knew it. As my finger hovered over the mouse to click on the Before and After video link, I just knew, with spine-tingling certainty, that it was a mistake. Mmm, over four minutes: I won't have time to watch it all. This must just be a quick and sneaky peek, I told myself ...
Well, it wasn't. I only had to hear the words "How many times have you tried to improve a design by adding things to it? A line, an extra colour, a fancy type-face ... You'll get better results by doing the opposite - by simplifying. " and I was ( as you might have guessed) hooked.
It's a great video for scrapbookers, even if you're not a clean and simple kinda-scrapper. Watch as John takes a magazine cover for photographers and removes the elements one by one, till there is only the photo and a piece of background left. If you do not breathe easier and go 'Ahh..!', then come back, leave me a message and I will send you a present of some sheets of my best patterned paper.
Even though I had already completed my skinny New 52 Week 4 (to the right), I couldn't resist trying his suggestions:
- take the photo to the edge of the page - no border
- no other embellishments
- use only one typeface - ring the variations through using regular and bold.
- use even margins
- align clearly
- use colours from the photo
- don't be tempted to fill blank space
So I had a go (see below). I'm really not sure which I like best. Do feel free to add your own opinion below - I'd be very happy to hear what you think! But it was instructional and fun to do and, as he pointed out, it was easier and less time-consuming that the original. That's always a bonus, in my book. Especially if it leaves even more time for another close encounter with the ladder, the Windowlene and the spiders ...