Visual Hierarchy Adjustments

Most billing dashboards show numbers. This one shows structure. Instead of forcing users to read through tables or guess proportions, the design answers two questions instantly: What’s the total billing? Where is it coming from? Here are the intentional design decisions that make this work: 1. Total anchored at the center: The total sits in the middle- exactly where the eye goes first. Users don’t need to calculate anything. The main KPI is established before the breakdown even begins. 2. Visual hierarchy shows contribution instantly Example: Surgery has the largest arc, followed by Consultation, then Diagnostics. Even without numbers, the ranking is obvious. That’s good hierarchy doing its job. 3. Color builds association, not decoration: Each category has one clear color repeated across icon and segment. No gradients. No unnecessary accents. Color helps recognition, not distraction. 4. Legend acts like a precision layer: The right panel doesn’t just name categories- it shows exact dollar values. Executives get a quick scan. Finance teams get accurate numbers. One layout serves both. This KPI focuses on distribution- not trends, not comparisons, not growth. Because the scope is clear, the message stays strong. Love this? Follow #TheVisualBreakdown and hit the bell so you don’t miss the next one

Your operators are ignoring your metric boards. And they are right to do it. (I see this mistake in 90% of plants) Most plants treat visual management like a scrapbook. They cover the walls with OEE scores, project trackers, and last month’s pie charts. Then they wonder why the team walks right past them. Here is the hard truth: You are showing them history. They are trying to survive the present. Visual Management has a strict hierarchy. If you skip the bottom, nobody cares about the top. The 4 Levels of Visibility: Level 1: The Vital Signs (Safety & Quality) Emergency stops. Active hazards. Defects happening right now. Why: Because lives and liability matter more than your efficiency score. Level 2: The Pulse (Production Status) Are we winning or losing today? What is down right now? Why: Today’s output pays for tomorrow’s strategy. Level 3: The Health (Trends) OEE patterns. Downtime by shift. Scrap rates. Why: This tells management where to focus resources. Level 4: The Future (Improvement Projects) Active projects. Kaizen results. Strategy. Why: Strategy only works after you have stabilized the chaos. The Problem? Most plants do this backward. They start with Level 4 (Pretty project boards). While Level 1 (Safety/Quality) is invisible. Operators ignore your board because nothing on it helps them survive the shift. So fix the order: Make hazards impossible to miss. Show real-time status. Then worry about the trends. Start at the top. The rest will follow. (Repost if your board needs a makeover ♻️) P.S. Be honest. Does your board show "The Pulse" or just "History"? Let's chat. 👇

Your visuals are costing you clients. Not because of what you say — but how it looks. You’re pouring your heart into your content. But when people scroll past — not because they don’t care, but because they don’t get it — that hurts. It’s not your message. It’s how you're showing it. You have 3 seconds to make someone stop scrolling. That’s it. But most personal brand visuals are: ✖️ Overdesigned ✖️ Confusing ✖️ Cluttered with too much text ✖️ Lacking emotional clarity And that = lost connection. So ask yourself: • What is my purpose? Am I trying to inspire, educate, or sell? Be clear before you create. • Is my message clear at a glance? Can someone understand the value without reading everything? • Does this visual match how I want to be remembered? If it feels noisy or rushed, it weakens trust. • Would I stop scrolling for this? If you saw your post, would you lean in? Now imagine this instead— ✓ Your visuals feel clean. ✓Focused. Emotion-led. ✓They pause the scroll — and build trust. Because clarity isn't design. It’s credibility. Here are some small tweaks you can do today– 1/ Limit your fonts & colors Use 1-2 fonts, 2-3 brand colors. Why? Simplicity builds recognition and trust. (Think of Justin Welsh posts— clean, memorable, consistent). 2/ One idea per visual Trying to say everything at once? You’ll lose them. (Start with one strong, emotional hook per carousel). 3/ Use visual hierarchy Bold your main point. Keep other text light.(Headline in big bold letters, details smaller beneath). 4/ Whitespace is your power tool Give space. Let ideas breathe. ( Think Apple ads — clean, calm, effective). 5/ Design for skimmers Use arrows, icons, clean lines — they guide attention effortlessly. (Simple layouts with minimal distractions. Focused and fast). People don’t buy your offer — they buy how it feels. And visuals? That’s the first feeling they get. Clarity = trust. Simplicity = signal. And your message deserves to be seen. As clarity isn’t luck — it’s intention. And your message deserves to be seen. Comment “Audit” — I’ll give you one tip to make your visuals simplify and that stand out!

A strong concept can still fail if the execution is weak. Here's how we took a cluttered, unfocused edit and transformed it into a visually compelling announcement. In the original edit, the message of OYO’s profitability was getting lost due to poor visual hierarchy, weak semantic consistency, and lack of storytelling clarity. The floating OYO logo on a faceless suit created confusion, while the scattered background colors distracted from the core message. Even the financial data lacked proper emphasis, making the announcement less impactful.  To fix this, we:   1. Strengthened visual hierarchy by replacing the faceless logo with a black-and-white portrait of the CEO against OYO’s signature red background.   2. Improved semantic consistency by using a piggy bank and animated coins to reinforce the idea of financial success.   3. Enhanced text clarity by integrating a realistic Twitter interface and bold highlights for key financial numbers.   4. Refined attention control through smooth zoom-in animations and chromatic aberration effects to guide the viewer’s focus.  The result? A professional, engaging, and high-impact financial announcement that delivers the message with clarity and authority.  

Typography is more than just picking fonts—it can shape how people read, understand, and feel about your content. Great typography creates hierarchy, clarity, and emotion—but here’s the twist: Sometimes breaking the rules leads to powerful, impactful designs. Here are the typography rules designers should (usually) follow—and when breaking them can elevate your work: 1️⃣ Limit your typeface variety. Too many typefaces makes a design feel disjointed. It's better to stick with 2 to *occasionally* 3 fonts and, instead of additional typefaces, using font weight, size, and style to broaden your typographic hierarchy without losing cohesion. TIP: Pairing a serif with a sans-serif gives you a lot of potential for contrast. When needed, your third typeface should be a display font used sparingly for headlines. 2️⃣ Prioritize legibility. Ornate fonts might look cool, but you lose readability. If your audience has to squint or guess, then they probably won’t bother trying. Instead, focus on nailing down your line height, kerning, and contrast to maximize readability across devices. TIP: Be sure to test legibility on smaller screens—mobile users make up the majority of most audiences. 3️⃣ Build clear hierarchies. The idea behind typography is to guide the reader’s attention through the content in order of importance. By adjusting size, weight, and spacing, we can create areas of emphasis to highlight what’s important or create a flow. Headline > subhead > body: Each level distinct yet cohesive. NOTE: Your hierarchy needs to work even when someone scans the page in 5 seconds. All that said, here are some examples of when it's okay to break the rules: 1️⃣ Grabbing attention. • Bold, oversized headers or unexpected type choices are meant to stop users mid-scroll. • Exaggerated letter spacing or massive font sizes for a single word or phrase establishes a clear visual anchor. 2️⃣ To provoke or disrupt. • When the goal is to challenge conventions (e.g., brutalist or experimental design), bending or breaking the rules becomes part of the message. • Think of designs where text overlaps, breaks grids, or feels intentionally chaotic—it’s about creating emotion, not perfection. 3️⃣ Enhancing usability. • Breaking typography conventions is sometimes necessary to make a design accessible—like using larger fonts for users with low vision or higher contrast ratios to improve readability for all users. Typography isn’t just decoration—it’s communication. Before you break a rule, you should understand why it exists so you're breaking them with purpose, leading to greater impact. What’s one typography rule you always follow—or love to break? 🤔👇 #typography #designthinking #graphicdesign #uxdesign #creativity ---------------- 👋 Hi, I’m Dane—sharing daily design tools & tips. ❤️ Found this helpful? 'Like’ it to spread the word. 🔄 Share to help others (& to keep for later). ➕ Want more? Follow me for daily insights.

Don’t neglect visual hierarchy in your UX portfolio. Let’s take as an example a typical UX case study section layout where a designer presents one design decision by describing the rationale and presenting the design concept. The story and image are ready. It’s time to organise the content using visual hierarchy. Here’s how to use visual hierarchy in your UX portfolio ⬇️ 1️⃣ Collect content Make sure you have your text and images ready. Heading needs to be insightful, the body text needs to be concrete whereas the image should be high-quality. 2️⃣ Use squint test Evaluate current visual hierarchy to see which elements stand out and which elements blur together. Simply use “Blur” function in Figma to check it. This test should help you see how your users can potentialy navigate through this content and if it’s clear and easy to scan. 3️⃣ Group content Think about which elements belong to each other, which information describes another element, if the order of the content is natural. Group these elements and separate with a bigger spacing. 4️⃣ Prioritise content using size, weight and colour Decide which information should be prioritised, which information is the most important. Should hiring manager read this first or that? Use font size, weight and colour to prioritise and deprioritise information. For font size use Typescales Figma plugin to make everything in scale. 5️⃣ Use writing rhythm for longer texts It means breaking longer paragraphs into smaller groups divided with small spacings. The most common writing rhythm is 1-3-1 which means: 1 sentence, spacing, 3 sentences, spacing, 1 sentence. The first sentence should be an intro sentence whereas the last one should conclude the paragraph. How visual hierarchy will help improve your portoflio? ✅ Increase readibility ✅ Make it more scannable ✅ Improve user’s perception ✅ Bring user’s attention to key points Looking for more portfolio tips? Don't forget to follow 😊 #uxdesigner #uxportfolio

As I promised earlier, I’m sharing this in two posts because it exceeds character limits. Here are the design principles I use: 1) Maintain Hierarchy: This principle is often overlooked but crucial. A well-defined hierarchy helps guide users and provides a clear structure to your analysis. Arrange elements by their importance to direct the viewer's eye effectively. For example: Store Market Campaign Dashboard: Campaign > States > Cities > Stores Overall Campaign Performance > Performance over states > Top and bottom cities by performance > Drill-through for store performance 2) Grouping: Humans naturally seek connections between related items. Group elements that focus on similar concepts to facilitate easier comparison. This method also visually indicates relationships and a sense of belonging among data points. Group visuals with the same category to help users discern patterns. Use shapes, space, and background colors to achieve this. 3) Balance: Avoid overcrowding one side of your visuals. Distribute elements evenly to create a formal and stable appearance. Proper white space is as crucial as a good color palette—“Let your visuals breathe.” Proper spacing not only improves aesthetics but also aids users in digesting the information more easily. 4) Information Limitation Based on User Roles & Requirements: Executives: Require only highlights and minimal interactivity. The dashboard should answer questions in under 30 seconds (high-level granularity). Examples include KPI trends, Top-performing products, and least-performing products. Managers: Need more detail, including category breakdowns, and moderate interactivity for better comparisons. The dashboard should answer questions in under 150 seconds (medium-level granularity). You could use Pareto charts and heatmaps. Analysts: Require in-depth details with lower-level granularity to identify outliers. Scatter plots, box plots, and tables are ideal for these users. Use Tooltips for Additional Details: Enhance your dashboard with tooltips that reveal next-level details. For instance, use tooltips to display sales trends for regional performance. 5) Usability Over Appearance: Prioritize intuitive and functional design over aesthetics. Ensure the design is user-friendly. For instance, if you have a field parameter or bookmarks with different functionalities compared to user filters, use distinct styles to highlight these differences consistently. In my next post, I’ll share the tools I use and my favorite rules. Here is the deconstructed video of one of my dashboards to illustrate the above details.

Principle 7: Create a Visual Hierarchy This is the seventh in a series of 24 principles we use at Hatch Duo to craft visually compelling, timeless products. Visual hierarchy organizes a product’s elements to guide attention, clarify actions, and create an intuitive first impression. Visual Hierarchy Matters Hierarchy defines focus and flow: - Color draws the eye to key actions or logos - Form and scale highlight controls over passive surfaces - Subtle textures or tones can separate primary and secondary elements - Lack of hierarchy makes products feel confusing, busy, or unrefined Strong hierarchy creates clarity. Users know where to look, what to touch, and how to trust the object. Hierarchy Enhances Usability and Brand Recognition - Important actions feel obvious and inviting - Branding feels purposeful, not intrusive - Surfaces feel organized, not cluttered - Clear flow builds product confidence and brand recall Visual Hierarchy in Practice Products that master hierarchy balance boldness with subtlety: - Pixel Buds use a small pop of color on the touch surface for intuitive control - Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 uses color-coded knobs and a clean layout to guide interaction - Logitech POP Keys highlights interactive zones with playful color contrast and emoji buttons Good hierarchy isn’t loud, it’s confident, clean, and deliberate. Applying Hierarchy with Purpose Highlight with Form and Contrast: → Elevate key features by adjusting size, shape, or color saturation Subdue Secondary Elements: → Use muted tones, minimal detailing, or simple geometry for less important areas Guide the User's Eye: → Lead attention naturally from primary to secondary zones through visual weight Maintain Consistency Across Touchpoints: → Apply the same rules across every view, surface, and interaction Hierarchy shapes how users experience a product without needing instructions. When crafted with care, it builds trust, improves usability, and elevates a product’s presence in every environment. This is just one of 24 principles we use at Hatch Duo to craft elegant aesthetics in physical product design. Stay tuned for the next principle in our Aesthetic Principles Series. #design #visualhierarchy #industrialdesign #hatchduo #productdesign

Stop making your candidates "hunt" for information. Most job boards fail because they treat data like a paragraph instead of a roadmap. Here is how visual hierarchy transforms a "wall of text" into a high-converting application. ❌ 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 (The Friction) : 1) Messy Layout: Data is buried in a single, hard-to-scan line. 2) Invisible Action: No buttons—only a tiny, manual email link. 3) Weak Branding: Small logo and flat text feel generic. 4) Information Overload: A block of text with no clear "next step". ✅ 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 (The Fix)： 1) Visual Structure: Icons + labels for instant scanning. 2) Clear CTAs: High-contrast buttons provide an obvious target. 3) Status Indicators: "Actively hiring" badge builds immediate confidence. 4) Premium Feel: Better spacing and hierarchy reflect brand authority. Good design isn't just about how it looks; 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙. 📌𝗣.𝗦. High-quality candidates are busy. If your job post takes more than 5 seconds to "digest," you’ve already lost the best talent to a competitor with a better UX. #UXDesign #ProductDesign #Hiring #UIUX #DesignSystems