Design Success and Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

SUCCESS
    This ad for a musician is a great example of balance, symmetry, use of positive negative space, grouping, and leveling.
   The first thing you notice about this ad is that the left mimics the right in almost perfect vertical symmetry. Both arrows start from the top corners and lead your eye down to the the third arrow that leads you right back again. This piece had a simple black and white color relationship that uses white as a negative space to allow the art to pop off the page as it contrasts with the sharp black. The overall design has information grouped into three locations. The first arrow starts at the top left, where your eye is trained to begin on any page, then as you fallow the group you reach the second arrow. This arrow stars where the last left off and guides you through the artists name and onward to the last arrow group which takes you back the the bottom center. Finally the piece is completely leveled. It is centered on the page, there is a huge & symbol denoting the center of the page. and the rest fallows in vertical symmetrical balance.

   FAILURE:
     This web design fails in its ability to create balance, sharpening, use of positive negative space, abstraction, and grouping.
   First off the balance is not centered around any horizontal or vertical line. This is not saying that the design must aligned to the direct center to be level. The image of the duck is one of the main reasons that leveling fails. This image offsets the main header and leaves the design leaning left. The left links create a negative space that is repeated without order or interest. Each box sits on top of another and the yellow creates a pull into the other boxes grouped to the bottom of the design. The abstracted duck does not entice or connect with the viewer. It displaces and creates unnecessary space. It is not grouped. Each element is either left aligned or centered. This creates an confusing and nonuniform concept. Your eye starts with the centered items then moves over to the left columns then finally off the page entirely.