Dominance simply sounds like a controlling, authoritative word. In design, it holds the same meaning. Creating dominance in design makes creative use of size, color, density, value, and white space to create the effect of one object being larger than others, hogging the space, begging for attention.

In this image of a building on Princess Anne Street in downtown Fredericksburg, the building and, more specifically the windows in the building, use size and perspective to create the effect of dominance. The building is ruling the lamppost! The post is actually in the foreground. I was standing on the street corner, looking up with the lamppost only an arm’s-length away from me. Perhaps a change of angle to emphasize the lamppost would turn the tables on that building then the lamppost could dominate the building!