visual hierarchy
Importance through appearance
Visual hierarchy is the arrangement of elements in a design to guide the viewer's eye through content in order of importance.
Designers create it through size, color, contrast, spacing, and placement—a large bold headline draws attention before smaller body text.
The landing page had poor visual hierarchy; users couldn't find the signup button.
The principle applies across graphic design, web interfaces, and typography.
- typographyArranging letters for display
- contrastNotable difference between things
- size mattersDimensions are significant
- graphic designArranging images and text
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
responsive design · focal point · call to action · grid systems · eye tracking · scale · color theory · above the fold · whitespace · cognitive load · layout · emphasis · dominance · layering · packaging design · web design · proximity · balance