Emphasis of Elements in Web Design

Techniques for Providing Emphasis and a Visual Hierarchy on Web Pages
Headings
The first place you should look to create a visual hierarchy is your HTML. The HTML heading tags provide a built-in hierarchy for your use.
Font Size
Changing the font size is an easy way to provide visual hierarchy and emphasis to your Web pages. The larger the font size is for an element, the more important it will appear.
Element Size
Just like font sizes, the size of the elements on the page can provide emphasis. The larger an element is on the page, the more emphasis it's going to have.
Colors
Color is another great way to provide emphasis. Contrasting colors used sparingly make the colored elements and text jump out of the page. This is why links are often the most prominent feature on a Web page.
Spacing, Location, and Whitespace
Placement of your element can do a lot for the emphasis. If you have one element placed in the middle of the page - with a lot of whitespace around it, that element will be emphasized, even if it's small or light in color. Also, in Web design, the location of an element helps determine it's emphasis.
HTML Emphasis Tags
There are two HTML tags used for emphasis: <strong> and <em>. Most people think of these as "bold" and "italics" but in reality they are intended to provide emphasis (<em>) and stronger emphasis (<strong>). As with other tags, you can use style sheets to style these tags however you want.
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