The people involved in the design of a marketing piece have different priorities. Marketers want the message to stand out clearly. Sales teams want the message to be as big as possible. And also, yes, stand out.

And your customers?

They don’t have the time or patience to sift through chaotic designs that force them to think too hard. This is why it’s essential to understand how the human eye reads a page.

Once you know how people take in information, you can organize it to guide them as they read and move them toward action.

How does the eye read a page?

Language significantly affects a design’s layout and how people read online and offline. For instance, Middle Eastern readers read from right to left. Meanwhile, readers of English, Spanish, and other Western languages consume content from left to right.

But regardless of the language your audience reads in, there’s one thing they’re looking for—a pattern.

When presented with a new page to look at, your readers’ eyes are constantly looking for familiar elements like shapes, colors, and a clear hierarchy as they skim. And when presented with more complex information, the urge to classify it grows larger.

What does this mean for you? It means adapting your layouts to align with the most common reading types: Z- and F-pattern.

Z-pattern
For the Z-pattern, people begin to read from the top left side of a page before moving to the right. As they move down the page, their eyes drift diagonally toward the bottom left as they repeat the process.

It’s not uncommon to break out the content into smaller chunks of information combined with directive imagery to accommodate this reading pattern. This type of layout structure helps to naturally lead readers through websites or sales documents where you have a short window to catch someone’s attention.

F-Pattern
Some readers use the F-pattern to work through larger blocks of information. The F-pattern begins similarly to the Z-pattern, with the reader scanning from the top left to the top right.

But instead of zig-zagging through the page, the eye continues moving down the left side until it reaches a visual cue. Once the reader finds it, they continue reading from left to right in short bursts, repeating the pattern throughout the page.

Using eye-tracking technology, researchers found that when people scan content, especially online, using the F-pattern, some people are more systematic, while others are faster. However, the quicker a reader scans, the less information they take in because they’re skipping large parts of the text.

How do you create a good visual hierarchy?

Part of a web or print designer’s job is to ensure that your key messages are easy to find and understand. So when this information isn’t crystal clear, it affects the success of your marketing piece.

So, where do you start when you want to create a clear visual hierarchy?

Organize your content for priority
Here’s a secret. Your most important content and offers don’t necessarily have to be slapped at the top of the page. But every word and image has to work together to lead toward your end goal.

Headings and subheads
As readers scan, headlines and subheads give them the gist of each section. And each one needs special attention. Again, most readers skim, especially online. Your marketing headlines and subheads must be written based on the specific value proposition you’re selling to the reader.

Use visuals wisely
Visual hierarchy is about building logic into the layout, so the information people see is usable and easily understood. Grouping images together with your messages and using callouts and bullets can help lead people as they move along the path to clicking, calling, or signing up.

Designs that resonate

Remember those old things called newspapers? The front page grabbed people’s attention for a reason. Newspaper layouts use a big headline paired with a massive image at the top of the page. Based on the information in this “breaking news” section, the reader’s curiosity is piqued, and they’re encouraged to move further into the rest of the page.

Your layout has to do the same thing. Grab people’s attention. But whereas newspapers purposely give people lots of information to read through, business marketing forces you to condense a lot of information into a digestible format.

Now, design for print and web has to be skimmable and enable readers to get what they need quickly. Your design layout has to organize everything in a way people understand and visually guide them so they ultimately act.