Hierarchy is the visual organization of information in order of importance. It relies on variations in point size, weight, color, space or position, which guide the reader's eye from the most important to the most secondary.
Where to see it
Hierarchy can be read on the front page of a newspaper, where the headline comes before the standfirst, then the body text and the captions. On a website, it is expressed through heading levels, from H1 to H6, which structure the page for readers and search engines alike.
Why this detail matters
A clear hierarchy makes it possible to understand content before even reading it:
- It helps readers spot the essentials of a page at a glance, then choose what they want to explore further;
- It relies on a limited number of clearly distinct levels: too many different styles blur the reading instead of guiding it;
- On the web, a consistent heading hierarchy also improves accessibility and SEO, because it makes the structure of the page understandable to machines.
Related term
Contrast refers to the differences in point size, weight or style that make it possible to distinguish the levels of a hierarchy.