Dominance relates to varying degrees of emphasis in design. It determines the visual weight of a composition establishes space and perspective and often resolves where the centre of emphasis should be located when looking at a design. There are three stages of dominance, each relating to the visual weight of a particular object within a composition.
Dominant: The object given the most visual weight, the element of primary emphasis that advances to the foreground in the composition.
Sub-dominant: The element of secondary emphasis, the elements in the middle ground of the composition.
Subordinate: The object given the least visual weight, the element of tertiary emphasis that recedes to the background of the composition.
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