visual weight
Optical mass impression
Visual weight is the sense that some elements in a composition draw the eye more than others—that they feel heavier or more substantial.
In design and art, factors like size, color intensity, contrast, and placement determine visual weight: The bright red button has too much visual weight for a secondary action.
Balancing visual weight across a layout creates harmony; imbalance creates tension or hierarchy.
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- contrastNotable difference between things
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- emphasisStress given to something
mass · dominance · heaviness · lightness · focal · eye movement · anchor · composition · page layout · scale · proportion · design principles · tension · color · color blocking · saturation · darkness · bulk
- graphic designlogo, font, typography, layout, color
- compositionbalance, symmetry, asymmetry, proportion, layout
- design elementscolor, motif, shape, font choice, symmetry
- art elementsline, shape, color, value, space
- visual designgraphic design, typography, color, layout, emphasis
- design principlescontrast, proportion, symmetry, balance, composition
visual weightairiness
Lightness and openness
delicacy · weightlessness · buoyancy · insubstantiality · floatiness
visual weightnegative space
Empty area around forms
white space · emptiness · open space · breathing room · minimalism
visual, visually, visible, visibility, invisible, invisibility, vision, visionary, envision