The ONLY Video On Visual Hierarchy ANY Graphic Designer Needs

Understanding Hierarchy in Design

Key Concepts: Hierarchy, design principles, marketing hierarchy (attract, intrigue, deliver), visual cues (color, size, typography), visual pathways, F-pattern, Z-pattern, three-level rule (hook, secondary detail, finisher), white space.

What is Hierarchy?

Hierarchy is a fundamental design principle that establishes order of importance among design elements. It directs the viewer's attention and makes information easily understandable. Effective use of hierarchy is crucial for guiding the viewer's experience.

Three-Stage Process of Marketing Hierarchy

The video outlines a three-stage process for marketing hierarchy:

1. Attract: Drawing the viewer's attention.
2. Intrigue: Spiking the viewer's interest.
3. Deliver: Conveying the message.

Example: The Adidas poster uses the shoe and paint splash to attract, the quote "Time to change up" to intrigue, and the remaining text to deliver the message.

Methods of Implementing Hierarchy

Several methods can be used to implement hierarchy in designs:

• Color: Red is the most attention-grabbing color, often used for notifications and alerts. Using a single color element in a grayscale design can draw attention to that element.
• Size: Larger elements appear more important and are the first to be noticed. This is often used in advertising campaigns to highlight the product.
• Typography: Using different sizes and weights for headings, subheadings, and body text creates a clear hierarchy. Color can also be used to emphasize certain text elements.

Example: Nike advert uses color and size of typography to create hierarchy.

Avoiding Lack of Visual Hierarchy

A lack of visual hierarchy can result in a cramped and confusing design. To avoid this:

1. Establish Clear Hierarchy: Organize content elements in order of importance, using visual cues like size, color, and typography.
2. Create Visual Pathways: Design the layout to guide the viewer's eye through the content in a logical and intuitive manner, using lines or directional elements to connect related content.
3. Simplify Navigation: Keep navigation elements simple and intuitive, using clear labels and consistent placement.

Hierarchy-Based Tricks

• Leading Lines: Use dominant visual assets to point to the next important visual asset.
• Depth of Field: Use depth of field to draw the viewer into the secondary hierarchy asset.
• Typography Hierarchy: Prioritize hierarchy in typography, using color and size, and keeping the alignment to the left.

The Three Flow Rule

The three flow rule is a fundamental way to make good and effective designs:

1. Where are the viewer's eyes initially going to land on your design?
2. Where is the likely second place the viewer eye will actually move to?
3. Where will the viewer's eye finally finish up?

Example: The Pet Play Feed poster starts with the bold white topography, then the parrot, and then the information to the left.

F and Z Patterns

The F and Z patterns are common techniques used to form a basis of hierarchy, especially in the Western world:

• F Pattern: Viewers start in the top left, move to the right, and then scan down the left side.
• Z Pattern: Viewers start in the top left, move to the right, diagonally down to the bottom left, and then to the bottom right.

These patterns can be used to strategically place elements on the design.

Structuring Hierarchy in Terms of Size: The Three Levels

A good way for structuring hierarchy in terms of size is to think of these three levels:

1. The Hook: The largest element, designed to grab attention.
2. The Secondary Detail: The second largest element, providing additional information.
3. The Finisher: The smaller sections, containing crucial information and CTAs.

Example: If the design is about a product, then the hero of the design will actually be that product itself.

Grouped Objects and Hierarchy

Placing one object larger and in the center of a group with equal sets of other objects either side automatically makes it stand out and creates hierarchy.

Typography and the Three-Level Rule

When thinking about topography on your designs in regard to hierarchy, it's actually a really good idea to think about that three-level rule we spoke about earlier: the hook, the secondary detail, and then the finisher.

The Importance of White Space

Hierarchy cannot survive or work without white space. White space allows distinctions to be made by the viewer, so hierarchy can actually be identified subconsciously.

Why is Hierarchy Important?

Hierarchy makes designs more interesting, appealing, and easier to interact with. It allows readers to gather information more efficiently.

Hierarchy List

Almost every design uses multiple different versions of hierarchy all at once, and here is your super duper hierarchy list:

• Weight: The weight of the fonts you use, important areas often using bolder widths.
• Size: The more important something is, the bigger it should be on your design.
• Color: Making a design asset and obviously different color from the rest of your design or design elements makes it stand out more.
• Orientation: You can arrange your text and your assets in a certain way, so maybe an isometric angle where the lower left goes up to the upper right, and then you can have something opposing the angle direction.
• White Space: If you give an object a lot of white space on your design, it then has room to breathe, and it becomes more obvious to the reader and thus more important.
• Font Style: If your body text is serif, then consider using a sans serif for the heading, and bingo, you have some hierarchy.

Conclusion

Understanding and implementing hierarchy is essential for creating effective and engaging designs. By using visual cues, patterns, and the three-level rule, designers can guide the viewer's eye and ensure that the most important information is easily accessible. The proper use of white space is also crucial for allowing hierarchy to function effectively.