Design Principles Digital Scrapbooking: Element Properties and Photoshop Brushes (Masterly Brushes Part 2)

Design Principles Digital Scrapbooking: Self-Paced Course | Adobe Photoshop & Photoshop Elements

Most digital scrapbookers place brushes by feel. Part 2 of the Masterly Brushes series gives you something better — a framework. In two connected modules, you will learn the element properties that every digital supply has, the design principles that tell you what to do with them, and exactly how to apply both when placing Photoshop brushes on your pages.

Note: This course is demonstrated in Adobe Photoshop CC, with detailed guidance provided for Photoshop Elements throughout.

Why Design Principles Change the Way You Use Brushes

The question every scrapbooker asks is: where does this go? Most of the time, the answer comes from guessing — trying something, moving it, trying again.

But design principles exist precisely to answer that question. They are not abstract rules — they are a practical language for reading your supplies and making placement decisions with confidence. Once you understand the properties your digital elements carry, and the principles that govern how those properties work together, the guesswork stops.

In short, Part 2 gives you that language. Furthermore, Module 2 applies it directly to Photoshop brushes — so by the end, you will know not just what a brush looks like, but where it belongs and why.

What You Will Learn in Masterly Brushes Part 2

This course covers both the theory and the practical application of design principles in digital scrapbooking. Specifically, across both modules, you will learn how to:

• Identify the Fundamental 5 Element Properties in digital scrapbooking and photo artistry — and read them in any supply you own
• Apply the Secret 7 Design Principles to guide placement decisions — so every element goes where it belongs, with intention
• Use element properties to create visual interest across your pages — not just balance, but tension, contrast, and flow
• Select Photoshop brushes according to their element properties — so the brush you reach for is always the right one for the page
• Place brushes with confidence using design principles as your guide — no more second-guessing where something goes
• Recolor brushes effectively — and understand why transparency matters in how a brush behaves on the page
• Use ArtPlay Palette BrushSets with greater creative range — inspired by the layout deconstruct included in Module 2

The 2 Modules

Module 1: Design Principles and Element Properties

This session builds the foundation. You will learn the Fundamental 5 Element Properties — the visual characteristics every digital scrapbooking and photo artistry supply carries — and the Secret 7 Design Principles that tell you how to use them. Together, these two frameworks give you a practical system for making design decisions, not just design guesses. As a result, you will look at your digital supplies differently — because you will know what they are telling you.

Includes:

• Video 1: Element Properties (21 minutes)
• Video 2: Principles of Design (18 minutes)
• 3-page written guide — Element Properties and Design Principles in digital scrapbooking (.PDF)

Module 2: Design with Brushes

Module 2 applies everything from Module 1 directly to Photoshop brushes. Specifically, you will learn how to identify the properties of a brush, use those properties to select and place it according to design principles, and then recolor it to suit your page. Additionally, a complete layout deconstruct demonstrates how these decisions play out on a real page — so you can see the thinking, not just the result. Ultimately, brush placement becomes a decision, not a guess.

Module 2 includes:

• Video 1: Applying Design Principles with Brushes (27 minutes)
• Video 2: Layout Deconstruct using Brushes (20 minutes)
• 4-page Anna Aspnes Designs Basic Techniques Guide (.PDF)
• 3-page written guide — Applying Design Principles with Brushes (.PDF)

Who Is This Course For?

This course is for the digital scrapbooker who wants their layout decisions to feel intentional, not accidental. In particular, it is a great fit if any of the following sound familiar:

• You place elements by feel and want to understand the design logic behind the decisions
• Your pages look fine but rarely feel cohesive or fully composed
• You have brushes in your collection but are not sure how to choose the right one for a page
• Design terms like contrast, balance, and visual flow sound interesting — and you want to understand what they actually mean on a layout
• You completed Masterly Brushes Part 1 and are ready to go deeper
• You work in Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements — both are supported throughout

What Is Included in Masterly Brushes Part 2

• 4 Video Sessions — approximately 86 minutes of instruction delivered in .MP4 format, across two modules. Watch on your computer or load into iTunes for viewing on a smart device.
• Written Course Guides — a 3-page Element Properties and Design Principles guide, a 3-page Design Principles with Brushes guide, and a 4-page Anna Aspnes Designs Basic Techniques Guide, all in .PDF format
• Bonus Anna Aspnes DigitalART Supplies — the digital scrapbooking and photo artistry supplies used in the class project, including ArtPlay Palette Florence (a $12.99 value)

This is a self-paced course. You can download all content immediately after purchase.

More Resources

• About the Masterly Brushes Series
• Create your first layout in Adobe Photoshop and Elements (with FREE Digital Scrapbook Supplies)
• ArtPlay Palettes by Anna Aspnes Designs at Oscraps

Course Availability

What Makes This Course Different

Most digital scrapbooking instruction shows you what to do on a specific page. This course shows you why — and that changes how you work on every page after it. Instead of a technique that applies to one layout, you walk away with a framework that applies to all of them. Furthermore, because the Fundamental 5 and Secret 7 come from recognized design theory — not personal preference — they work across styles, supplies, and skill levels.

Additionally, the layout deconstruct in Module 2 makes the abstract concrete — seeing design principles at work in a real page, explained step by step, is what turns a concept into something you actually use. The skills build on each other, and they compound across every layout you make from here.

When You Know the Rules, the Page Tells You What It Needs

Element properties. Those principles. Together, applied to brushes. That is the whole course — and it is enough to change how you work in Photoshop permanently.

Ultimately, the best placement decision is an informed one. Part 2 gives you the information.

Got questions? Email anytime at classes@annaaspnesdesigns.com