Contrast gives designs visual excitement, consistency makes your viewers feel at home — whether they're viewing a Website, looking at a brochure, or reading an ad.

Once your page is balanced, you will no longer notice the elements as being individual. Your whole page will become one piece and the viewers eyes will flow from one element to the next seamlessly.

Consistency Definitions

According to "Graphic Fundamentals Every Editor Should Know":

While there is value in using some surprise and variation in a newspaper's design, this must be balanced against the need for consistency and a solid corporate visual identity.

Design creates unity by using white space, type and colors in a consistent way throughout every document your firm produces, and within every page of a single document, presentation or web site.

Consistency Tactics

So just how do you create consistency in your designs?

Margins and Page Layout
Use the same margins throughout a document, and choose the same underlying grid.

Fonts
Face it, if you're a designer, you've probably got a bazillion fonts. That doesn't mean that you have to use every font you own in every design. Two typefaces is enough for many jobs; one typeface can lend beauty to documents, too.

Navigation
When (if) you travel in Europe, do you find yourself confused because the language and signs change from country to country? Visitors to your Website might become confused if navigation graphics are on the left on one page, on the right on another, and at the bottom on another.

Color
If your logo is two colors, you probably wouldn't dream of switching those colors around. You thought long and hard about the right colors. Your viewers/readers will feel more comfortable with your Websites and printed designs if there's a recognizable color scheme. Even in a process color design, there's no reason to use all sixteen million or so colors available to you. Try to keep your design palette limited to two or three colors, and don't forget to use them consistently!