{ "_description": "Generated from data/ — edit the sources, not this file. The agent access guide explains the evidence boundary of every field.", "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "kind": "entry", "locale": "en", "id": "focal-point", "name": { "zh": "焦点律", "en": "Focal Point" }, "page": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/focal-point/", "self": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/focal-point.json", "alternates": { "zh-CN": "https://designvocabulary.com/zh/entries/focal-point.json", "en": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/focal-point.json" }, "site": { "catalogSchemaVersion": "0.1.0", "entries": 137, "index": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/index.json", "query": "https://designvocabulary.com/api/query?lang=en", "guide": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/agents/", "llms": "https://designvocabulary.com/llms.txt" }, "provenance": { "sourceBacked": [ "entry.definition" ], "editorial": [ "entry.boundary", "entry.signature", "entry.when", "entry.when_not", "entry.tradeoff", "entry.comparison", "entry.rules", "entry.relations", "entry.implementationNote", "entry.principle" ], "scope": "Definitions reference these sources. Digital specimens, selection advice, relationships, and recipes are editorial work and have not been validated through user research.", "editorialStatus": "drafted", "specimenData": "fictional", "specimenNote": "Original fictional specimens. Definitions cite sources; usage advice and recipes are editorial.", "sources": [ { "id": "focalpoint-salience", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salience_(neuroscience)", "title": "Wikipedia · Salience (neuroscience)", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "status": "pending", "confirmed": false, "url": null, "capturedAt": null, "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salience_(neuroscience)" } }, { "id": "focalpoint-visualhierarchy", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy", "title": "Wikipedia · Visual hierarchy", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "status": "available", "confirmed": true, "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260922115705/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy", "capturedAt": "2026-09-22T11:57:05Z", "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy" } }, { "id": "focalpoint-vonrestorff", "url": "https://lawsofux.com/von-restorff-effect/", "title": "Laws of UX · Von Restorff Effect", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "status": "pending", "confirmed": false, "url": null, "capturedAt": null, "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://lawsofux.com/von-restorff-effect/" } } ], "lists": [], "ordered": false, "listDisclaimer": "Seat numbers are editorial positions, not scores, rankings, or popularity measurements. A list that is not filled is left as it is." }, "entry": { "id": "focal-point", "type": "principle", "name": { "zh": "焦点律", "en": "Focal Point" }, "aliases": [ "Visual Salience", "Emphasis", "视觉焦点", "显著性" ], "granularity": "component", "intents": [ "organize-content", "inform" ], "tags": [ "focal point", "salience", "attention", "contrast", "emphasis" ], "definition": "Within a set of elements, the one that differs most from its surroundings is noticed first: salience comes from contrast — in size, color, shape, or position — which is why one composition should have only one real focal point.", "boundary": "Focal point is about which element is seen first, while visual hierarchy is about the order of the whole set: the focal point is the hierarchy’s first level, not the hierarchy itself. It is also not the Von Restorff effect, which predicts that the differing item is better *remembered* while a focal point concerns being seen *earlier*; the mechanisms are adjacent but the conclusions differ. This entry offers no measurements of gaze duration or recognition speed. Note in particular that salience is relative — it comes from difference to the surroundings rather than from an element’s own properties — so making something big and red does nothing in a composition already full of big red things.", "signature": [ "Only one element in the composition clearly differs from the rest", "The difference comes from contrast with the surroundings, not the element’s own absolute value", "The remaining elements stay similar to one another and so set that one off" ], "when": [ "One action or one message on a screen must be noticed before the rest", "There are many similar elements and a clear entry point is needed", "The composition has a subject and it needs to hold attention" ], "when_not": [ "Several elements are emphasised at once so none of them remains the focal point", "The focal point lands on decoration and the real action is left weaker by comparison", "Difference is made by color alone and users with color-vision deficiencies cannot perceive it" ], "tradeoff": "A clear focal point gives attention a definite place to land, at the cost of salience being zero-sum: every additional emphasised element weakens the focal point until they all settle back to one level.", "comparison": { "focus": "Deciding which single element is noticed first", "mechanism": "Giving one element the greatest contrast with its surroundings while the rest stay alike", "cost": "Salience is zero-sum and cannot be built on color alone" }, "sources": [ { "id": "focalpoint-salience", "title": "Wikipedia · Salience (neuroscience)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salience_(neuroscience)", "claim": "The article defines salience as the state or quality by which an item stands out from its neighbors, and explains that salient events are an attentional mechanism by which organisms learn and survive. This entry takes the point that salience comes from difference to the surroundings from it; the design trade-offs drawn from it are editorial.", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salience_(neuroscience)", "status": "pending", "checkedAt": "2026-09-22T11:57:22.380Z", "error": "status-request-failed", "jobId": "spn2-bf2be7ac29c4627fb9d0c9e3c6c5361a7694f5b7" } }, { "id": "focalpoint-visualhierarchy", "title": "Wikipedia · Visual hierarchy", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy", "claim": "The article explains that particular elements in a visual field stand out more than others to create a perceived order of importance, that this order is created by the visual contrast between forms in the field, and that objects of the highest contrast to their surroundings are recognised first. This entry uses it to establish that the focal point is the first level of that order and to divide the work between the two entries.", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy", "status": "available", "checkedAt": "2026-09-22T11:56:40.708Z", "jobId": "spn2-b7eba1c09595f9fe1c984a76be0289018decfc71", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260922115705/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_hierarchy", "timestamp": "20260922115705" } }, { "id": "focalpoint-vonrestorff", "title": "Laws of UX · Von Restorff Effect", "url": "https://lawsofux.com/von-restorff-effect/", "claim": "The entry explains that the Von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that when multiple similar objects are present the one that differs is most likely to be remembered, and advises making important information or key actions visually distinctive while using restraint. This entry cites it to draw the boundary: that effect is about being remembered, while focal point is about being seen first.", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16", "archive": { "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916*/https://lawsofux.com/von-restorff-effect/", "status": "pending", "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T17:40:08.117Z", "error": "status-request-failed", "jobId": "spn2-25b1a19f0bd58fafe2b27f9afede106ee8c35038" } } ], "relations": [ { "target": "visual-hierarchy", "kind": "composes_with", "condition": "A screen needs a full order of precedence rather than just a starting point", "reason": "The focal point is the hierarchy’s first level, and the hierarchy arranges the weight of every level after it.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "figure-ground", "kind": "composes_with", "condition": "The focal point has to separate from its background", "reason": "An element must read as figure before it can be a focal point; where figure and ground are unclear, even strong contrast fails.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "perceivable-alternatives", "kind": "composes_with", "condition": "The focal point is built on a difference in color", "reason": "Color is not a channel everyone can distinguish, so the focal point should also be carried by size, position, or shape.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "disguised-ads", "kind": "conflicts_when", "condition": "The most salient element is an advertisement rather than what the user came for", "reason": "Handing the focal point to promotion uses visual means to redirect what the user set out to do.", "basis": "editorial" } ], "rules": [ { "when": "Two or more equally emphasised elements share a screen", "instruction": "Keep one as the focal point and demote the rest; do not try to make them all stand out by adding more emphasis.", "strength": "recommend", "basis": "editorial" }, { "when": "The focal point is created by color", "instruction": "Carry the same difference in size, position, or shape as well, so users who cannot rely on color can still find it.", "strength": "must", "basis": "editorial" } ], "principle": { "evidenceType": "An organising principle grounded in perceptual salience; this entry cites no specific gaze or reaction-time measurements", "limit": "This entry covers only being seen first, says nothing about memory effects, and prescribes no particular contrast or size-difference value." }, "demo": null, "version": "0.1.0", "editorialStatus": "drafted", "requirements": [], "demoCapabilities": [], "implementationNote": "This entry has no runnable specimen; the illustration is an editorial sketch that sets one differing element against a field of similar ones to show salience, and represents no gaze measurement. Before shipping, confirm the focal point does not rely on color alone and that it lands on what actually matters.", "image": { "src": "/images/focal-point.webp", "alt": "A sketch: in a regular field of pale grey dots one dot is larger, terracotta, and slightly off the grid so that it is seen at once; to the right the same field has every dot enlarged and coloured terracotta, and none of them stands out." }, "searchTerms": [ "焦点", "显著性", "注意力", "对比", "强调" ] } }