Visual hierarchy is a term frequently used in the field of graphic design. It refers to the arrangement of elements in a graphic that indicates the order of importance of the elements. Graphic designers use visual hierarchy to direct a viewer’s attention first to the most important elements in a design and then to less important elements. As a scientist, you may not have heard this term, but you often have to deal with graphics, such as model illustration, graphic abstracts, cover images, posters, and PowerPoint slides. Below are a few basic tricks of creating visual hierarchy to make your graphics easier to understand.
1. Size. If a graphic has all elements (texts, lines, shapes, etc.) of the same size, a viewer’s mind cannot decide where to start looking, which will make the process of getting the main idea of the illustration slow. People’s eyes are drawn to the biggest elements in a design first, so use the largest shape or font size for the most important elements. Use the second largest shape or font size for the second important elements, and then an even smaller shape or font size for the elements of the next level of importance. Usually three different sizes are the best; too many levels in the hierarchy require additional mental effort from the viewer.
2. Color and contrast. Bright, more saturated colors stand out from muted or less saturated colors. Put an element in a color that has a strong contrast with the background will make it noticeable. Similar to size of fonts and shapes, use colors of different brightness and saturation to create a hierarchy can help a viewer to see the most important elements first.
3. Space. Another way to make an element stand out is to leave some empty space around it. Generally in science, we don’t like to have a lot of white space in a figure, but an illustration with many different things crowed together is difficult for the viewer to get the meaning immediately. Use space cleverly can make your illustration visually appealing and easier to understand.
A graphic designer might have many more tricks for creating visual hierarchy in their designs. These three are just the most basic ones that you might have already been using in designing your graphics. Next time you design a graphic abstract or a slide, make sure to use visual hierarchy to let your design stand out.