Focal HierarchyThe devices that decide what a viewer looks at first, second and last.Art & DesignRank the parts first, then use these to enforce the ranking.Strongest pullHighest value contrastSharpest edgeGreatest chromaA face, or an eyeLines converging on a pointSupportingIsolation from everything elseThe most detail and textureAn unexpected shape or directionWarm against coolPosition on the reading pathPushing backSofter edges, lower contrastGrey the colour downRepeat it until it stops being novelCrop it, or overlap itTesting itSquint until only masses remainLook away, then look backAsk a stranger where they looked firstFirst, second, third. A picture with two equal centres of interest leavesthe eye shuttling between them.Focal Hierarchylearnposters.com
Focal Hierarchy — printable design wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Focal Hierarchy poster

17 entries in 4 groups.

Rank the parts first, then use these to enforce the ranking.

First, second, third. A picture with two equal centres of interest leaves the eye shuttling between them.

Questions about the Focal Hierarchy poster

What’s on the Focal Hierarchy poster?
17 entries in 4 groups. Rank the parts first, then use these to enforce the ranking. Strongest pull: Highest value contrast, Sharpest edge, Greatest chroma, A face, or an…; Supporting: Isolation from everything else, The most detail and texture, An unexpecte…; Pushing back: Softer edges, lower contrast, Grey the colour down, Repeat it until it…; Testing it: Squint until only masses remain, Look away, then look back, Ask a strange…. First, second, third. A picture with two equal centres of interest leaves the eye shuttling between them.
Who is the Focal Hierarchy poster for?
Focal Hierarchy belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning colour & composition can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Focal Hierarchy poster?
Use it when everything in a piece competes and nothing leads. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Focal Hierarchy belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Focal Hierarchy?
Colour Contrast, Additive & Subtractive and Scale & Proportion sit alongside Focal Hierarchy in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Colour ContrastAdditive & SubtractiveScale & Proportion
Is the Focal Hierarchy poster free to download and print?
Yes. Focal Hierarchy downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Focal Hierarchy poster print at?
Focal Hierarchy is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Focal Hierarchy loses nothing.Printing guide

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