https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/12/design-principles-visual-weight-direction/


https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/visual-weight-designs/


https://uxmovement.com/content/why-you-should-avoid-bright-saturated-background-colors/


https://uxplanet.org/11-ways-to-add-more-visual-weight-to-ui-object-6aca19c7bc97


https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/04/design-principles-compositional-flow-and-rhythm/

Haverford College in Pennsylvania

A web page consists of elements that directly attract visual attention towards itself in the eye of the viewer. Each element has varying degrees of exertion of such a power, but in general, the more this power is exerted, the more visual attention is directed toward that particular element. These elements also have other forces that suggest to the user where they should look next, thus helping guide their direction of vision. This force is referred to as “visual weight”, and guides the direction of vision as “visual direction”. These concepts are important in thinking about user flows, rhythms and balance in a website’s layout.


Visual Direction

User use their experiences and cognitive faculties to judge and put emphasis  on certain visual features. Accordingly, design science must follow the eye’s natural movements to understand what factors visual weight depends on.


• Size

• Color

• Value

• Position

• Texture

• Complexity

• Shape

• Orientation

• Density

• Local White Space

• Intrinsic Interest

• Depth

• Saturation

• Perceived physical weight

Measuring Visual Weight

"If visual weight is about attracting the eye to a particular location, then visual direction is about leading the eye to the next location. Visual direction is the perceived direction of visual forces. Think of it as the direction you would expect an element to move if it were in motion."

To control the visual direction of a website, there are several factors to consider: 

• Shape of element

• Location of elements

• Subject matter of element

• Movement

• Structural Skeleton



Learn Before

Related