What hierarchy actually is
Hierarchy sets an order of importance and guides the eye through the design. You build it with size, color, placement and type. The most important thing is the biggest, boldest or brightest. Everything else steps back so it can lead.
Show your graphic to someone for three seconds, then take it away. Ask what they saw first and what it wanted them to do. If they can't answer both, the hierarchy is broken.
Three steps to get it right
Write the reading order
Before you design, number it: 1 is the product or headline, 2 is the supporting line, 3 is the button. That's it.
Make number one much bigger
Not a little bigger. If your headline is only slightly larger than your body text, nothing leads.
Shrink or cut everything after three
Badges, stickers, extra claims. If it isn't in the top three, make it quieter or delete it.
Where AI gets it wrong
AI makes every element compete: headline, badge, icon, sticker, price, prop. It doesn't know what matters to your customer. You do.
Paste this into your image tool to get a better starting point:
One focal point only: the product. No badges, no stickers, no extra props. Leave clear space at the top for a single headline.
Name the problem in design words and give it one clear change:
“The headline, the badge and the price are all the same weight. Make the headline three times bigger than everything else and remove the badge.”
- Number the reading order on your next graphic before you start.
- Run the three-second test on your best-performing ad.
- Delete one thing that isn't in the top three.
- Next up: Alignment
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