Typographic Hierarchy: What is it, and why is it important?

What is Typography?

If a webpage does not provide clear and organized information, the reader will abandon it. It is just a messy piece of unorganized text without any typographic principles. Here comes typography which is the art of organizing written words so that they can be read quickly.

It is the art of making text come to life. It doesn't only convey a story, but it also creates an emotional atmosphere that serves the purpose of communicating a brand message to the targeted audience.

What is a Typography hierarchy?

Typography hierarchy is a way to make the text more readable. The main purpose of typography hierarchy is to arrange text to highlight the importance of information.

Without a typographic hierarchy, every letter, every word, and sentence in a design would look the same. Can you imagine reading something where everything is the same font, size, and color? Where do you start? How do you know what matters most?

Typographic hierarchy creates the contrast between elements. This helps designers shine at their dream UI developer jobs by the use of typefaces, size, weight, capital/lowercase letters, bold or italics, orientation, and color. Combinations of these design tools are used to create a type that falls into distinct layers.

Key factors to keep in mind when designing Typographic elements

It is important to understand what information you are trying to convey. Designers try to understand the purpose and objectives of the content first before being able to communicate it through design.

Ask yourself which information is most important and which words and letters could make interesting connections. Next, imagine yourself in the shoes of your target audience and consider how they will consume this information. The text should be viewed as a visual element.

Typography elements have symbolic meanings, just like the psychology behind color. A large, bold, all-caps font can be eye-catching and signify caution. So think about how the typeface will look when you choose it.

To create a hierarchy of typography text, you need to choose different elements that make each section stand out from the others. We'll discuss many elements that you can change later. First, let's try to understand the basic typographic hierarchy and its three major levels.

Levels of Typography hierarchy

Three major sections make up a visual hierarchy of text. These are the headline, subheading, and body which make the design more visually appealing and easier to navigate. This allows readers to scan quickly for relevant information. This classic typographic design idea can be used in any type of design.

The heading

The heading should contain the most important information to draw the reader's attention. A compelling header is essential as readers won't be able to move on to the next sections without it. This element should be visually stimulating, with large bold fonts and (usually) bold typefaces.

The subheading

The subheading is a great addition to the heading level, as it divides the design into sections. While it should not be as prominent as the heading, it should be clearer than the text body.

You can give additional information that expands on the heading and engages the audience without being too explicit. It is important to grab their attention so that they read the body.

The body

The body section covers the main text in your design. This is the most used and smallest type in a design. However, it must be large enough that all users can read it. Additionally, the typeface should be clean and consistent in terms of design, spacing, and usage.

Elements of Typography hierarchy

There are more elements through which the hierarchy of typography can be changed. Consider these most commonly used elements:

Typeface

Play with different fonts. Blogs should be written in bold and decorative fonts to create an impact. However, even a light typeface can work. Remember to choose a font that is easy to read, as body content is usually dense. It is easier to see the visual hierarchy if you use two different fonts for different sections. Make sure that there is a reason why the typefaces are used and that they fit in with your design.
Size

It is almost obvious that the larger the type, the more the eye will be attracted to it. The order of importance should be reflected in the type size.

Case

Although capitalizing body text is not recommended for readability, uppercase characters can be used in headings and subheadings to help distinguish different headings.

Weight

The weight refers to how light or heavy a typeface is. A heavier font can make text appear larger and more critical. Conversely, a lighter font can make the text seem less important.

Alignment

Alignment impacts the typography hierarchy visually. A centered heading and the body content flushed right gives the text prominence and importance. Naturally, attention will be drawn to the heading first and then the rest of the text.

Color

While color is often overlooked when creating hierarchy, it's an amazing option. It is possible to create a distinct hierarchy by using both lighter and darker shades of a particular color. The typographic color hierarchy can be further enhanced by having more contrast between typefaces, and their backgrounds.

Position

A design will be easier to understand if you separate the information and place them in the right order. Therefore, it is important to put the most important content at the top of your design. Besides, to organize the content, place all elements that are related together and visually separate others.

Spacing

The spacing between each word/line indicates clarity. More white space helps to emphasize important elements. This can be used to your advantage. Therefore, avoid the temptation to put all text together.

Contrast

Contrasting any of these factors: size, weight, or color, will draw attention.

Typography rules in digital projects

For digital projects, there are some additional features. In the digital typographic hierarchy, we should also consider HTML along with all the basic elements discussed earlier.

For projects that will be published online, it is important to properly use the header, body, and other typography text styles.

Title: This defines the title of the document for web crawlers or users.

Body: Typography rules in digital projects This defines the body text on any document.

Headers (h1 to h6): HTML header tags are used to distinguish the headings (h1) and subheadings (h2-h6) from the rest of the content on a web page. The h1 tag is the most important and biggest while the h6 tag is the smallest and least important.

Bold: Defines a heavier text that is more important.

Italic: Tilted text that defines special importance.

Conclusion

Effective content design requires a hierarchy of text, as you can see. This allows you to grab readers' attention and keep them interested quickly. We have shown you that there are many ways to create text hierarchies. We encourage you to try different methods using typography rules to diversify your designs. This will help you to be ahead of other designers and be better at your craft. Clients will be impressed with your knowledge which will take you places in the field.