Kōkiri Learn

Background reading · The Arts

Where does your eye go first? Composition and emphasis

Visual hierarchy, emphasis and focal points: the tricks artists use to control what you notice and in what order.

Look at any poster, mural or painting for five seconds and then look away. What do you remember? That was the focal point: the place the artist wanted you to look first. Nothing about it was an accident.

Key words

  • Composition: how everything in an artwork is arranged. - Focal point: the first place your eye lands. - Emphasis: making one part stand out more than the rest. - Visual hierarchy: the order in which you notice things, first, second, third.

    • Six ways to make something stand out

  • Size: the biggest thing usually wins. - Contrast: light against dark, bright against dull, rough against smooth. - Colour: one red shape in a grey picture. - Placement: slightly off-centre often feels more alive than dead centre. - Isolation: one thing surrounded by empty space. - Direction: lines, arms, roads and gazes that point to it.

    • Murals do this on a giant scale

    Murals across Aotearoa, from Ōtautahi Christchurch's post-earthquake walls to small-town main streets, have to work from across a road. Artists often use a huge central figure, strong contrast and simple shapes so the message reads in a second, then add detail for people who come closer.

    Plan before you paint

    Professional artists often make thumbnails: tiny, quick sketches of different layouts. They are small on purpose, so you only think about the big shapes. Try four layouts of the same idea in four minutes, then choose the one where your main idea is seen first.

    Less can say more

    Beginners often add more and more details. Artists often do the opposite and take things out. If a detail doesn't help your idea, it steals attention from the thing that does. Empty space (sometimes called negative space) gives the eye somewhere to rest.

    Sources and further reading

    Written for Kōkiri Learn students in our own words. Check facts against the sources.

    Used in: He Kōrero Auaha: Art That Speaks