![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-4rf6wSjL3DpdtEOSLLZxkmrzZxgnCFngrIOb2oN-zrWyZcqBgrFuwcfa3BqNiq77DtN-1KMG15_SL3B8clV9Tpg4bX8YYN5p52VGkCH_weCbKBSZES9QxB3F_iiCeabX5Llpx7M\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe first page on the left is the \u201cabout us\u201d section of a website. The middle page is a product page of an Ecommerce site. The third page on the right is a SERP. As you can see, there\u2019s a discernible pattern that arises between all three types of page. While the F-shaped pattern is most prominent on the product page of an Ecommerce site or SERP, it\u2019s clear that other types of content are digested in a similar manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Optimal desktop user experience can often be achieved by structuring your page layout following this principle in order to direct a visitor\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humans Spot Contrast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Human eyes are naturally drawn towards contrast. The most effective ways to get eyeballs to your intended focal point is to create contrast. It\u2019s one of the principles of Gestalt Theory, which \u201cattempts to describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied.\u201d The other principles include proximity, similarity, multi-stability, continuity, and closure. Spotting contrast is what we do as humans. So when it comes to getting visitors to take notice of key elements on your website, it\u2019s obviously beneficial to create contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White Space Is Crucial For Visual Perception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
White space or \u201cnegative space\u201d is the area between objects. It\u2019s the empty space that separates graphics, text, headers, columns, etc. While it may seem insignificant, white space actually plays an integral role and greatly impacts the overall aesthetics of a site. If you really think about it, it\u2019s the white space that enables objects to exist in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A cardinal sin that\u2019s committed quite frequently is overloading a website with excessive objects to the point that it looks clunky and saturated. You can think of it as digital maximalism. While loading a site up with more \u201cstuff\u201d may seem like an effective way to grab the user\u2019s attention, this is generally regarded as an ineffective practice. That\u2019s because this tends to be distracting and can overwhelm the visitor to the point of cognitive overload occurring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/Kaf62sGb0Bpmm7YuADNecDM4srZWz0-AaCS6KUniIjJeQ6T1ae-ZU98jIkGGmMzSh7R5l9sqWu9zEC_atwPCyde2luPshTc7TtquGIgZ7xDhDWtb1cYejj6y3ZAOChyE9MPJi7OV\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n