Understanding design principles will help in creating good designs that convey the right messages to the right target users. In this article, we’ll take you through everything you should know about design principle emphasis and how you can apply them in creating banners that convert.
What is Design Principle Emphasis?
Emphasis is basically the design principle used in referring to dominance. This is basically what designers use to win the attention of readers or their audience to key elements. Basically, it’s a principle that any designer can apply in drawing attention to key details in a design or materials. Together with other design principles such as contrast, proximity, negative space, balance, proportion, and visual hierarchy, emphasis will help in creating a focal point for your design.
Importance of Design Principle Emphasis
Humans are easily distracted, and our attention is quickly drawn to multiple places simultaneously. Without the design principle emphasis, it won’t be easy for the eyes to land on certain information in a design. With emphasis, viewers and readers will be able to identify what the designer considers to be important information easily in their design.
There are many ways that designers try to place emphasis on their design, and they mostly include the use of font weight and color variations. Ultimately, the goal is for readers to be able to easily focus on the design and also understand the message that is conveyed in the design.
The bottom line is that design principle emphasis helps in creating a mental shortcut in people. This is the key thing that allows for quick absorption of the information contained in the design and also in ensuring that this information stays longer in the mind.
Examples of Design Principle Emphasis
There are many ways we see design principle emphasis on a daily basis. In many cases, designers don’t deliberately do it, but it basically just happens naturally. The reasons for this are easy. In many cases, the eyes and human brain are constantly in search of patterns, and when these patterns are not available, the brain opts for certain elements for the purpose of emphasis.
There are many ways that the design principle emphasis is applied today. For example, in a data-driven infographic, larger figures or elements are used to create emphasis on a point that is being discussed. This is also in addition to icons, all of which are aimed at creating emphasis on the data in the infographics. Headers are also used in creating design principles that emphasize design.
For complex information, emphasis helps in enhancing easier communication by making the data easier to understand. The use of different elements, colors, and sizes also facilitates easy understanding of information. One key thing to always remember is that with size variation, you can easily draw the attention of your viewers to the information in your design. This is the ultimate reason to create emphasis in design.
Apply Emphasis to Create Converting Banners
In addition to understanding what design principle emphasis is about, it’s also crucial to know how to apply them to design. This is the best way to create converting banners and ensure that vital information stands out.
When it comes to applying design principle emphasis, it’s pertinent to note that there’s no single way to achieve this. We have put together some tested and trusted strategies that people use to create emphasis and ensure that their design stands out.
Here are some of the ways that you can apply design principle emphasis:
Size
Since our focus is mostly on enhancing visual communication, size remains one of the most important factors when it comes to creating emphasis. The common way to use size to create emphasis is by making some elements larger than others. Doing this will draw more attention to the larger elements than the smaller ones.
This is a strategy that many businesses use in their marketing campaigns or when they are about to offer promos on some of the goods and services that they offer. Another important feature when it comes to size is the use of negative space, which also facilitates emphasis, and promotes the design’s appeal.
Color
Another way to apply the design principle emphasis is through the use of color. This also works in a similar pattern to the use of size distribution. There are many ways that you can use color to create emphasis in design. The most common way to do this is by using unique colors on important text that you want to highlight.
Alternatively, you can simply give the text your own preferred color. The combination of color together with the size is a quick way to create emphasis in your design.
Contrast
Contrast is also a great way to apply the design principle emphasis, and this is equally a point to have in mind. Color and contrast are closely linked to one another, which is understandable. The common thing they share lies in the fact that they are both used in creating emphasis in design. Another distinguishing feature of contrast is that you don’t always use colors to apply contrast in design.
You can combine contrast with other design elements like varying placement or shape. Contrast is mostly applied in business communications, especially in a case where different color variety is utilized in the design. Another impressive thing is that you can use contrast and color to place emphasis on different elements in the information.
Images
One way to effectively use design principle emphasis is by creating a unique piece that your readers have not seen before. By doing this, you can easily create emphasis. However, for this to be possible, you’ll need to unleash your creative prowess and apply eye-catching graphic and visually stunning illustrations or images. This should be in addition to a unique choice of font and an interesting color combination.
Style
Style is also an important factor when it comes to applying the design principle emphasis. It’s important to note that it’s critical for visual communication, and emphasizing a style will help create uniqueness for your brand identity.
FAQ About Design Principle Emphasis
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
Why do we use emphasis in design?
We have covered a lot about the emphasis on design, including how you can apply them to create converting banners. At this point, you might already be wondering why you should use the principle in design. The main and most obvious reason to use emphasis in design is to serve as a visual guide for readers, thereby allowing them to focus easily on the most important information and element in your design.
Another reason why this is vital is that it allows viewers to easily understand the information and also flow with the communication that you intend to pass across.
Is emphasis a principle of design?
There are 13 principles of design of which emphasis is among these principles. The other principles of design include balance, movement, hierarchy, white space, proportion, alignment, variety, repetition, proximity, contrast, rhythm, and unity. As a designer, the need to understand how to use each of these principles cannot be overemphasized.
If you don’t already know how you can apply these principles, learning about design principle emphasis is a great way to start, and you have all you need to know about the principle in this article.
What’s the difference between emphasis and subordination?
Emphasis and subordination are terms that people often confuse because of how they are applied. Both terms are used a lot when trying to establish hierarchy, so it’s normal to confuse them. However, they are completely different terms.
Emphasis is a design principle that is applied in making design elements stand out, thereby increasing the focus on the overall design. On the other hand, subordination is used in muting or toning down design elements so that they are placed out of focus.
This implies that when you add more emphasis to a design, you allow it to stand out, and even though subordination tones down the design elements, it’s also a way to create emphasis. This is the main reason why people often confuse the two terms.
If you’re wondering how you can effectively use these strategies, the only thing you should do is consider the design elements as primary, secondary, and tertiary information.
Inspiration for Converting Banners Design
Now that you understand design principle emphasis, including how you can apply it in your design, you’re ready to start creating converting banner designs. Here’s an overview of how you can create a unique and converting banner:
- Make the headline stand out
- Talk about your experience
- Utilize contradictions
- Make images and contents on the target
- Inspect the call to action
- Mention at least one offer per ad
- Keep it simple
These steps are very effective, and with them, you can be sure to create banners that will convert. If you need visual examples to see how these steps are effectively applied, we recommend checking illustAC now. On illustAC, you’ll find different illustrations that perfectly depict how you can apply emphasis in design.
illustAC is also a platform where you can get illustrations to use on your banner design. Icons, illustrations, vectors, and images are design elements that you can use to enhance the visual appeal of your banners. As a designer, you need a reliable resource which you can easily get these elements from, and that’s what illustAC offers.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, emphasis is one of the 13 principles of design, and it’s actually the most intimate among these design principles. This is because of how it acts on the minds of readers to ensure that they understand and flow with your design.
Here’s a concluding tip for you: if you want to understand design principle emphasis, you should consider thinking like a reader and viewing things from their perspective.
In this article, we have provided all the key things that you should know about the concept. We have also included tips to help you apply the concept in creating converting designs and where you can get inspiration to create converting designs. Explore your design prowess and start creating converting banners with design principle emphasis.