Emphasis & Hierarchy

Emphasis & Hierarchy...

Visual hierarchy organises elements by importance, guiding attention to main areas.
Emphasis highlights important information through colour, shape, and weight.
Hierarchy and emphasis engage viewers, drawing attention to key elements for effective message delivery.
Learn more here.

Consider the following examples

Examples from: Lile, S. (2022) '12 Visual Hierarchy Principles Every Non-Designer Needs to Know' URL

What is emphasised in this design?
How has hierarchy been created through size?
Which words are emphasised and what emotional impact could that have on audiences?

How have size / perspective been used in these designs?
What does size / perspective emphasise (draw your attention to)?
Which of the images do you believe has used size / perspective in a more effective way? Why?

How has colour been used to emphasise parts of these designs?
Consider the overall hierarchy of the design. In what order do you notice elements? What does this say about their importance?
How has colour been used to evoke emotions in the audience? What could this have to do with emphasis?

You can check out even more examples and uses of hierarchy and emphasis below:

12 Visual Hierarchy Principles Non-Designers Needs to KnowVisual hierarchy is a method of organizing design elements in order of importance. These are the 12 virtual hierarchy principles you need to know.

Activity

Using the template provided, you should design a shoe and / or tshirt that uses emphasis to draw attention to a logo. Use the grade levels at the bottom of the page to guide what you create. You can print the template and use pens / pencils / colour for your design or you can save it and open it in Photoshop or a similar design program and use brush / drawing tools.

For Your Portfolio

Create a title in your portfolio, called 'Hierarchy & Emphasis' and put your designs on this page.

C level (ish)

Accredited:
-Create a tshirt or shoe design that uses size, perspective or colour to draw attention to a logo in the design
Tertiary:
-Create a minimum of two designs that use hierarchy or emphasis (they can both be shoes or both tshirts or one of each). One of your designs must use size, perspective or colour to create hierarchy or emphasis. One of them must use another strategy listed on the website above.
Include notes / annotations to explain your design choices, specifically how you used emphasis or hierarchy

B level (ish)

Tertiary:
-Complete previous steps.
-Write additional notes about ways that you can achieve hierarchy and emphasis (even ones you have not used in your design), based on the website provided.
Accredited:
-Create a minimum of two designs that use hierarchy or emphasis (they can both be shoes or both tshirts or one of each). Each of your designs must use size, perspective or colour to create hierarchy or emphasis.

A level (ish)

Tertiary:
-Complete previous steps
-Create a poster design on a blank page that advertises a food product of your choice.
-Use size, proximity and colour to create emphasis and hierarchy
-Write a short paragraph to explain your choices
Accredited:
-Complete previous steps.
-Write additional notes about ways that you can achieve hierarchy and emphasis (even ones you have not used in your design), based on the website provided.