Flow and Focus

Last week, we discussed how to use Layout and Composition techniques to make your work more engaging. Now, we need to think about how to guide our viewers eyes through the document in the correct order. This is accomplished by a few techniques, some of which we'll discuss today.

Dominance

When looking at a design, some objects seem to be more important than others. They seem to command more attention and almost drown out the other objects. This concept of design is called Dominance, and it's critical for communicating which objects should be looked at first.

Establishing Dominance

There are many different ways to establish dominance in a design. Some of these concepts are easy to implement in any design; others are only useful in specific projects. Here are a few ways we can establish dominance:

Size

Color
Size2 color

Texture

Shape
texture shape

According to smashingmagazine.com Links to an external site., "Your dominant element is the starting point for the story you're telling. It's the entry point into your design. It should attract visitors to the first place you want them to look."[1] Links to an external site.

Focal Points

Think of focal points as elements which are dominant, just not as dominant as your most important element. These focal points guide your audience through the document following a specific path. Consider the following image: focal

Image Credit: smashingmagazine.com Links to an external site.

Can you spot the most dominant element in this picture? If you said "the big red ball in the middle" you'd be correct. It's the most dominant because of its size, color, and shape.

Which are the focal points? Yeah, the maroon boxes scattered in the grid. Do these elements create a path through the design for your eyes to follow? They do for me. Here's the path my eyes follow, let's see if you are the same:

flow

This attention to dominance and focal points creates a Directional Flow in your design. Use this concept to establish hierarchy and control the order in which information is received.

 

References:

[1] Links to an external site. Bradley, Steven. "Design Principles: Dominance, Focal Points and Hierarchy." SmashingMagazine, Feb. 27, 2015, smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/design-principles-dominance-focal-points-hierarchy