Joanne Monk Photography: ITAP LECTURE 5

Visual Hierarchy

Visual Hierarchy is the order in which the Human eye perceives what it sees. What we see first and in what way our eyes are moved around the page, led by the last piece of information and almost dragged to the next Created by the visual contrast between forms in a field of perception. Objects with the highest contrast to their surroundings are recognised first by the human mind. A piece of graphics designed so certain aspects are noticed first. Each item has an order. It can be very subtle and blended into a piece, but sometimes it can also be incredibly obvious, with the use of grids or even instructional shapes such as arrows or a drawn path to follow. The visual hierarchy of a piece takes into account everything. The image or visual may be photography, illustration or graphic. The typography and the heading, subheading, body copy, and anything else it may incorporate. Things are made to stand out so you go there first using anything from sizing to colour to italics on typography. The visual hierarchy of a good piece of communication is usually always very well planned and thought out.

Your eye look at precisely where they should be

The order your eyes will read this text

In this 1999 Wonderbra advert, The Model “Can’t cook”, but who cares? Because her Breasts appear larger, thanks to her Wonderbra. This advert congratulates women for increasing their breast size. It also posits that a woman’s breast size is of principal importance more than she fulfills as her domestic role. The eye is drawn straight to her Breasts and secondly the point of her domestic qualities.

Tone of Voice

Essential to visual communicating a written text is ‘tone of voice’. This can be denoted through choice of font “LOUD or quiet”. The style of the typography, the size and colour of the font, all contribute to the tone. When you select a font you can shout, cry and whisper. Whether you are expressing sarcasm, anger or happiness, what ever your state of mind and your message, typography on its own retains elements of the spoken words. There is an expanding universe of fonts available for which designers need to possess a level of skill and understanding that will let them use the fonts effectively and powerfully. Knowing whom you are communicating to and what message is to be portrayed will help in the choice of font.