What is Visual Hierarchy?

Ever walked into a messy room and didn’t know where to look? That’s what a design without visual hierarchy feels like.

Whether you’re designing a website, a pitch deck, or an Instagram ad, if everything screams for attention—nothing gets heard.

Imagine scrolling through a landing page where the headline fights with the CTA, the product image is buried, and the font looks like it time-traveled from 1999. Your brain just nopes out. Fast.

This is where visual hierarchy saves the day.

It’s the game plan behind how people absorb visual information. It uses:

• Size to say, “Look at me first.”

• Contrast to create drama and focus.

• Typography to set tone and clarity.

• Placement to lead your eye on a guided journey.

According to UX research from Nielsen Norman Group, "users spend 80% of their time looking at content above the fold and in an F-pattern.

Meaning: where you place elements directly shapes what they see and what they click.

So instead of designing by vibes, design by purpose. Every design element should have a job—and know when to speak and when to shut up.

Because when your design talks in order, your audience listens in order. And when they listen? They click. They buy. They remember.