What’s most important in your design? Where should a viewer look? Emphasis is how you say, “Look here!”
In design, emphasis creates a focal point and brings attention to what is most important. And today to continue my series, Applying the 7 Principles of Design to WordPress, I’m sharing some tips and examples of emphasis in WordPress design.
Example: Lewis Center for the Arts
The Lewis Center for the Arts website features a large, bold hero area with a simple sentence to highlight what’s important. News, events, courses and categories are all called out in unique ways that emphasize their content.
Example: Connect with Copy
The Connect with Copy site also features a large hero area (which is a very popular trend right now). The purpose is to explain who you are, what you do, and why it matters. If you can draw attention to all of those things in a concise, noticeable way on the home page, the audience will grasp the concept of the business quickly, all because you put emphasis on the right things.
Tips to create emphasis
- Consider “hero” areas to quickly let the viewer know what the site is about
- Understand the main goals of the website and include appropriate content
- Break up text by using headlines and other graphic elements
- Allow bold text to really stand out—no faux browser bolding!
Share a site that you think is emphasizing what’s important… Next up—Design Principle No. 3: Balance.
