Graphic Design: Visual Composition Theory

Name: Graphic Design: Visual Composition Theory
Author: Joe Tury

Understand how hierarchy, alignment, and balance are used in layouts

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Course: On-Demand

In this lesson, you will learn the principle of visual hierarchy. In graphic design, hierarchy refers to the placement of visual elements in order of importance. Hierarchy can be achieved through several of the means that you have practiced throughout this module. As a designer, you want to develop visual hierarchy to ensure that you're intended audience captures the most relevant information first so they will remember the most important parts of the message. Follow along with this lesson by creating a letter size document in Adobe Illustrator. The first and most obvious way to achieve visual hierarchy is by size. Let's create a group of circles, and make one of them much larger than the others. When grouped together, the largest circle appears to be most important. Your eye naturally tends to follow the largest element first, and then we'll go to the smaller elements. Let's get rid of large circle, and look at another way to achieve visual hierarchy. Select one of the smaller circles and change the color to red. While in a group, the red circle stands out, and is what draws our attention initially. Color is an excellent way to guide your audience through the composition. A third way hierarchy can be achieved is through majority. Create one large circle and separate it from the other group. If the other group has overwhelming numbers, those elements will draw the attention first. In design, this can be achieved through repetition. A fourth way we can achieve this is through perceived weight. Remember, darker elements have a heavier perceived weight than lighter elements. Select two circles and align them next to each other. Lower the opacity of one to 50%. Notice how the darker circle commands the attention first, and therefore appears to be more important. And a fifth method to achieve visual hierarchy is through alignment. Align five circles with each other and place them on the left side of the art board. Now, spread a few more of the circles to the right. Notice how the aligned circles have a more commanding presence and draw the attention first. Let's put this into practice with some typographical elements. One obvious example is one that we have done several times, and that would be name and title. Let's type "John Smith" in a thick font, such as Arial Black, and in all caps. Now let's put his title, owner, in a thinner font, and make it smaller. The name is the first thing that stands out, and what you will read first. How about if we duplicate the name John Smith multiple times and place them all together in a group? Nothing stands out. Select one. Change the color to red. Even if it's moved off to the side just a bit, it still draws the attention first. Now, let's try this with repeating elements. Type out one through 10, and in front of five, six, seven, eight, let's put a bullet point. The repetition of the bullet point highlights those numbers, and therefore gives them more importance. Type out the phrase, "The importance of visual weight." Now, highlight the word importance and make it a thicker font in bold. Notice how even though it's only one word, it visually weighs more than the rest, therefore, we notice it and make sure we pay attention to it. Alignment can be key. Type out a fictitious business name and address and make sure they are left aligned. By grouping these and aligning them correctly together, it signifies the importance. Color, weight, repetition, alignment, and size can all be beneficial for your design in terms of hierarchy. Take care not to abuse these principles. Using too many inappropriately may result in more confusion than recognition. In the next lesson, we will look more into specifics regarding alignment.

Beginner Provider : Joe Tury 3 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Experienced designers know how to establish an order of importance with their layouts that makes the logical progression more obvious to the viewer. This order of importance is known as hierarchy, which combines with alignment to establish an overall tone for the message. We’ll also consider the role of maintaining balance in composition, so that the message as a whole is both clear and aesthetically pleasing.

In these lessons, you will learn how to develop hierarchy in your messages so that your intended audience sees the layout in order of importance. We’ll look at various strategies for establishing a sense of order so that the composition can be remembered. We’ll also go over how alignment across your design helps establish the tone and flow of your message. You will also learn how to recognize a balanced composition and how to avoid imbalanced elements.

What You'll Learn

Establish visual hierarchy so your audience views a layout in order of importance
Develop strategies for creating a sense of order that makes a composition memorable
Apply alignment across a design to establish the tone and flow of your message
Recognize a balanced composition and avoid imbalanced elements
Distinguish between balanced and unbalanced compositions

Key Takeaways

Hierarchy is the order of importance that makes the logical progression of a layout more obvious to the viewer.
Hierarchy combines with alignment to establish an overall tone for the message.
Alignment across a design helps establish the tone and flow of the message.
Maintaining balance in composition keeps the message both clear and aesthetically pleasing.
Establishing a sense of order helps a composition be remembered.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn how to develop hierarchy so your audience sees a layout in order of importance, how alignment establishes the tone and flow of your message, and how to recognize a balanced composition while avoiding imbalanced elements.

What topics or lessons does the course cover?

The course covers three lessons: Visual Hierarchy, Alignment in Overall Composition, and Balance in Visual Communication.

What is hierarchy in visual composition?

Hierarchy is the order of importance in a layout that makes the logical progression more obvious to the viewer, and it combines with alignment to establish an overall tone for the message.

What skills does this course help build?

It helps build skills in Communication Design, Graphic Communication, Graphic Design, Presentation Design, Visual Composition, and Visual Design.