Academy / Graphic design basics
Lesson 2 of 6 · 5 min
What people see first
Quick recallA bakery wants one flyer to say it opens at 7, sells wedding cakes, has a new sourdough and is hiring. What should it do?Think of your answer, then open.
Pick the most important job for this flyer and save the others for other designs. One design, one job. A design with four jobs gets read as none of them.
People's eyes land somewhere first, then second, then third. That order is called hierarchy. If you do not choose it, the layout chooses for you.
Three levels are enough
- First: the one line that does the job. The biggest.
- Second: the support, like a date or a price.
- Third: the small facts, like an address.
Size, weight and one strong color are how you say "look here first". One or two of them, used clearly, is enough.
Squint at it
Blur the post below and see what is left.
Try it: blur a post and see what stands out first.
When two things are the same size and weight, nothing comes first. Make one bigger or one smaller.
Do it
- Click your main line. Use + next to the size in the bar at the top until it is the biggest text on the page.
- Make your second line about half that size, and the small facts smaller still.
- Use Bold on the first level only.
- Lean back and squint. One clear thing, then a second, then a blur.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
Two lines on your design have the same size and weight, and both look like headlines. What do you do?
Show the answer
Make one clearly bigger or one clearly smaller. Two things at the same level fight each other. Pick one to lead.
What does the squint test show?
Show the answer
Which shapes your eye picks out first. Squinting hides small details, so you see the order the eye follows.
How many levels does a simple design need?
Show the answer
Three: first, second and small facts. Three levels are easy to read and easy to build.
In this course
- 1What your design must sayEvery design has one job. How to name it before you open the editor, and how the Goal filter finds a template for it. · 4 min
- 2What people see firstHierarchy is a clear order of big, medium and small. Test it with a blur, then set it in Design. · 5 min
- 3Colors that work togetherContrast comes first, then few colors. Test your eye on eight pairs, then put your brand colors on a design in one click. · 5 min
- 4Fonts and how to pair themTwo fonts are enough. Judge six pairs with your own headline, then set yours in Design. · 5 min
- 5Space and alignmentEmpty space is part of the design, things that belong together stay close, and one clean edge makes a post look planned. · 5 min
- 6Pictures that earn their placeChoose a photo that supports the job, crop it so the right part shows, and give several photos one look. · 5 min