Before&After Design Tip: Good Design Must Have a Focal Point
Learn how to create a focal point that will give your design holding power.
Here’s a quick design tip from issue 41 of Before&After Magazine.
Utah has awe-inspiring national parks, but that’s hard to tell by the cover of this guidebook. Notice how the canyon lands, and the sky and background run together in an indistinct blur.
Unlike a panoramic vista, good design must have a focal point, or it will have no holding power. Take a look.
CreativePro members can download original content from Before&After Magazine, a beloved resource that taught a generation of newly minted digital designers how to design and communicate effectively with the written word. See our archive here.
© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
This article was last modified on January 3, 2026
This article was first published on March 28, 2025
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