Hello and welcome to this beginner's guide series to graphic design.
From what graphic design is, skills to be a graphic designer, design theory, education you need, equipment you need, to the graphic design portfolio and interview advice.
This series is for anyone at any level.
So if you're interested in graphic design and considering becoming a graphic designer.
join me as I discuss a series of graphic design topics.
Graphic design is not simply about making things look good.
In graphic design there are principles of design that can be considered.
These principles are what typically separate good design from bad design. These principles all have a
relationship between each other and appear in every well designed piece of work you see.
A good grasp of design theory will mean there is always substance behind your work.
The key principles of design are: Contrast, hierarchy, alignment, balance, proximity, repetition, simplicity and function.
What ever work you produce be it for a magazine, a poster a website or advertisement,
these principles of design should be considered. A good designer keeps these principles and guidelines in
their toolkit and will consciously use them to develop their ideas.
In this video I'm going to discuss the second key design principle and discuss hierarchy as a design principle in graphic design.
In this video I'll be referring to some visual examples. If you wish to take a closer look at these
you can find them in the downloadable PDF document that accompanies this series
link is in the description.
So hierarchy is the control of visual information in an arrangement
or presentation to imply importance.
Hierarchy influences the order in which the human eye perceives what it sees. In design we use hierarchy to:
Add structure, create visual organisation, create direction, add emphasis
and help a viewer navigate and digest information easily.
Hierarchy is typically created by contrast between visual elements in a composition.
Typically visual elements with highest contrast are noticed first.
Using hierarchy we can control how a viewer engages with information to ensure that
information is navigated and digested in the way it is intended.
For example where we want the eye to look first, where we want the eye to look second,
and where we want the eye to look third and so on...
Establishing clear visual hierarchy is important because it
holds the design together. Used effectively hierarchy can make a complex
message simple. In design hierarchy can manifest itself in many visual ways.
It's through the careful consideration and arrangement of visual elements that
create a clear hierarchy. Hierarchy can manifest itself in many visual ways such as
in scale. colour, contrast, space, alignment, shape and form.
So looking at the PDF here are some basic hierarchy design principles.
So the first example is hierarchy in scale. Here we have some stroke lines going from thick to thin
from top to bottom in eight steps. The hierarchy of scale in these eight steps
also suggests direction of hierarchy the flow of importance here starts from the
top and troubles down from thick to thin. Now the next example challenges this perception.
Here we have the exact same comp but this time the colour has changed.
In this example the thinnest stroke is the darkest colour and the thicker stroke is the lightest colour.
Even though the strokes are larger above the thin stroke is perceived as bolder and stronger
because it's more apparent and appears closer, more in focus.
by changing the colours we have changed the hierarchy structure.
Now it could be said that the hierarchy now travels from bottom to top
from thin to thick because the darkest colour attracts the eye first.
So this next example demonstrates hierarchy again in scale but also in contrast.
Here we see a grid of circles with a single small one
by contrast in scale and number this suggests that the larger
circles carry more important than the smaller one
Now if we modify the colour this creates a new dynamic and shifts the hierarchy.
The smaller circle is now darker. By contrast the smaller circle is now more prominent.
So in the next example we see hierarchy in colour again the shapes on
the inside are darker than those of outside so we perceive them as more prominent
tho if we change the space of these shapes. Through overlapping we now create a new hierarchy.
Hierarchy here is no longer determined by colour.
the shapes that are on top appear closer to us, are the shapes we see most clearly which are
perceived to be the most prominent. Hierarchy is now defined by space.
In the next example we have the same shapes in various colors but this time the shapes
are in various sizes with various blur effects applied.
This creates an illustration of depth unlike with space in the previous example
it's not necessarily about the shapes that appear closer to us here, but the shapes that appear the most clear to us.
So the shapes that are the most in focus do a better job of attracting the eye
thus become the most prominent. In this example hierarchy is defined by depth and focus.
So in this last example colour and alignment of shapes is suggesting perspective and movement.
Here we perceive the shapes coming closer to us.
The flow of hierarchy here starts from the perceived front and moves
towards the back into the distance. So those are some simple principles of hierarchy
Now in design depending on the simplicity or complexity of the intended message
hierarchy in design can exist in multiple forms
and compete against each other at the same time.
If we take a look at the next page in the PDF here I have some common practical design instances
where hierarchy plays a role. So for this first example I have a simple index page
here we have a lot of information
but through the consideration of alignment and space each subsection from the top
down takes a step to the right and there is adequate space separating the
individual parts. The header and sub header is a different and bolder
typeface to the body copy highlighting important breakpoints.
This all works well together to create a clear and comprehensive list easy to navigate.
Hierarchy exists here through contrast in alignment, space, colour and type face.
So next is an example of a simple type layout and some of the common settings
that are applied to distinguish hierarchy. Here we have a mixture of type alignment
typeface, type size, type weight and colour. Next is a more complex example of hierarchy.
For this example I have a letterhead. Now letterheads can come in
various designs but they typically follow the same pattern.
Here hierarchy is working in composition as well as typesetting. Letterheads will almost
always lead with a brand the logo is here in the top left looking pretty prominent.
To the right of this is the address details of the company in this instance aligned to the right
which contrasts nicely with the main message
So the top of the letterhead is pretty prominent here and communicates the
important info about the company details. Below is where the main message is placed
notice the margin here is quite large
this leaves for some nice negative space down the left side which creates a nice
clean design which also gives prominence to the logo.
Below this we have the details of who the messages is from and below this we have a footer
with some require detail. We have a small horizontal stroke to partition this away
from the message and the type size is smaller not to clash with the main message
and finally below this we have part of the brand motif as simple blocks of colour
So for a simple letterhead that is quite a lot going on here but through careful consideration of the
visual elements the order of importance is nice and clear.
So next is an example of a simple infographic.
Here hierarchy is working in two parts
it's working in the illustration and in the overall composition.
First the graphic above clearly illustrates a timeline or tree diagram.
We see the diagram starts from the base, in this instance the flow of information starts
from the bottom to the top from dark to light distinguishing the various branches.
Placed below this is a simple list which is a reference to the visual above.
So overall the illustration is the most dominant visual element here supported by the reference below.
So next is an example of where hierarchy starts to push the boundaries in more creative layouts.
First we have an index page. Here hierarchy exists in many forms
overall as small as the white type is compared to the title it still exerts more
prominence due to the contrast in colour. Here type is not treated as individual
elements but as one rigid column cutting through the loosely scattered title below.
Within the column itself we have a number of types sizes and weights which
creates contrast to distinguish order, the title is left as a playful
decorative piece in a darker tone allowing the column type to come to the front
Next we have a simple layout that could easily be a magazine article.
The composition immediately draws your attention to the large playful type layout, the article title wrapped around the body copy
Next we have a sub header and the body copy below. Contrast is created between
the sub header and the body copy by two different typefaces and sizes
and also by the right alignment of the sub header and the left alignment of the body copy.
Below this we have a small horizontal stroke signifying the end of the article
and signing off with the name of the person who wrote the article.
So the next example is where hierarchy starts to get really complex. Here I have an example of
a typical magazine cover and a newspaper cover this media is common for
communicating a lot of information in one instance.
hierarchy typically establishes itself on magazine covers through overlapping space and size
generally a magazine cover will revolve around one single main point of focus.
In this example we can see the image of the woman in the photograph is on top of the magazine title
then the header of the article which the photograph supports is on top of the photo.
So the three main important parts to this composition is: Big title, person in photo then magazine title.
Then we have some hints of what else is in the magazine
via sub headers around the figure in the picture.
We have a call out here in a circle, which compared to the other sub headers does draw your attention more
This suggests the magazine sees this article as something people want to read
perhaps to draw attention to buy the magazine. Some more prominence has been given to this article title here.
For decoration and dynamics the other titles have been applied in various typefaces
but don't typically compete too much with each other.
Next is the newspaper example.
Now unlike the magazine cover that will revolve around one single main point of focus
the newspaper will want to shout about multiple headlines at once.
Hierarchy typically establishes itself on newspaper covers through contrast in scale.
Typically on newspaper covers the most prominent article will exert the most space on the page
where less prominent articles will sit next to or around it
in this example we see the main prominent article taking up most of the
space, big photo and big typeface the smaller articles are sitting around it.
So that is the second key design principle in graphic design.
When you look at design ask yourself how has hierarchy be considered?
Is there a sense of hierarchy? What visual mechanisms have been used to create it?
and how well does it work as part of the design?
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So the next key design principle is alignment.
In the next video I'm going to talk about alignment as a design principle in graphic design.
So see you in the next video!