Composition · 04 of 04
Give the page a clear starting point
Make the first useful information easy to find.
The idea
A page should help someone understand where they are and what they can do.
On an article, that may be the title and introduction. In a working interface, it may be the current task, a search field or an important status. Choose the starting point around the reader's purpose.
Use position, scale and contrast to make that point recognisable, then create a clear next step. Other elements can still be prominent when the task needs them. Avoid assuming that every page needs one oversized headline or one action regardless of its content.
How to see it
Terms used in this lesson
The parts
- Entry point
- The first useful information or action a page presents.
- Emphasis
- Visual prominence created by size, position or contrast.
- Sequence
- The intended progression through content.
In practice
- Identify the reader's first task
- Make the subject or task easy to find
- Give the next step a clear place
Avoid
- Several competing introductions
- Decorative emphasis that hides the task
- Assuming every page needs the same hierarchy
The test
Show the page briefly to someone unfamiliar with it. Ask what it is for and where they would begin, then compare their answer with your intended task.
Sources
- Rudolf ArnheimArt and Visual Perception 1974
- Jakob NielsenF-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content 2006
- Kara PerniceF-Shaped Pattern of Reading: Misunderstood, But Still Relevant 2017
Reviewed against all forty, on your product.
The audit is the cheapest thing we sell, and it regularly concludes that you do not need the project you came for.