Being decisive is what we do in design and what we do in entertainment. We take responsibility for making decisions for our audience. Then, we can guide them along like happy sheep to a wonderful place, an important experience, or a fulfilling message.
I used this meme before and here it is again…
We notice things in order because of the hierarchy of letterforms presented in the meme. The headline is the king, then it descends down to the serfs of letters. Good graphic designers guide a viewer through what’s important first, second, third and on and on. We make intentional decisions and use empathy and psychology to help make a message absorbable.
In the western world, we scan a document top left to bottom right, but things (like big headlines) can disrupt that flow and create a new path. Disruptions are stimulating and make observance fun / engaging. This is true with entertainment also. Some people want to make entertainment that is top left to bottom right, but the badasses always look for ways to get people looking somewhere else first. They might not be comfortable with their audience being uncomfortable, but they know that it’s worth it.