Spend few hierarchy credits

Each visual change costs a credit. Spend one, check, then stop.

Brian Lovin@brian_lovin
One way I think about this is: You get a certain amount of "credits" to spend to create visual hierarchy. Size, color, space, weight, typeface, etc. The goal is to create a clear design while spending as few credits as possible. Some designs over-spend and things feel messy. Some designs under-spend and there's not enough hierarchy to latch onto.
Nov 11, 2025View on X ↗
Brian Lovin@brian_lovin
A good practice is to start by spending a single credit, see how it feels, and only spend more if it's not clear yet. For example, if you are trying to create visual hierarchy between two pieces of text, try changing only the weight instead of changing both the weight and size at the same time.
Nov 11, 2025View on X ↗

One post, split in two. Demo 1 is his weight-only example.

1 · Five credits or one

Scan each list for the file names, then the dates.

Over-spentBad
    Credits5size, weight, color, space, typeface
    One creditGood
      Credits1weight

      2 · Spend them one at a time

      Turn on one credit, check the list, add more only if needed.

      Your listUnder
        Credits0Nothing to latch onto.
        /* One credit: the name differs from its meta by weight alone. */
.file-name { font-weight: 600; }
.file-meta { font-weight: 400; }

/* Same size, same colour, same font. Add a second credit
   (color: var(--muted) on the meta) only if it still blurs together. */

        Why it matters, pros and cons

        Why it matters

        Every difference asks for attention. Spend too many and they compete; spend none and the eye has nowhere to land.

        Pros

        • Calmer screens: fewer sizes, greys and weights to keep consistent.
        • Credits stay free for the one thing that must stand out.
        • Easy to review: count the differences between two pieces of text.

        Cons

        • Marketing pages and headlines can afford to spend more.
        • Weight alone may be too subtle at small sizes or low contrast.
        • A credit count is a heuristic; still look at the result.