Brainsight’s Clarity Score measures how clean or cluttered a visual design appears.

High scores indicate a very clear, focused design, whereas low scores signal heavy visual clutter that makes it hard for viewers to find focal points, causing a high ‘cognitive load’ (making it hard for the eyes to process a visual, and for the brain to grasp it).

The Clarity Score is benchmarked on thousands of ads and hundreds of websites with a roughly normal distribution, so ~50 represents an average design. In practice, this means you can upload your creative and benchmark it with these grouped scores into qualitative bands from poor to excellent clarity forguidance.

Generally, higher clarity correlates with easier comprehension and better user engagement (studies show that as clarity increases, bounce rates tend to decrease).

Below is an interpretive guide to score the Clarity ranges:

🔴Poor (0–25): Very low clarity – the design’s visual structure is weak, and clutter overwhelms theviewer. High cognitive load and fragmented attention make it likely thatimportant elements are being missed and/or remembered.

🟠Weak to Moderate (26–50): Sub-par clarity– inconsistent attention flow with noticeable distractions. Some keyelements are harder to process efficiently, indicating room for improvement infocus and layout.

🟡Good (51–75): Solid clarity –a generally clear design with a strong visual hierarchy. Most keyelements stand out well, with only minor distractions; the design directsattention effectively, comparable to being at and (well) above the “pass mark”for clarity.

🟢Excellent (76–100): Exceptional clarity – optimized for instant attention and ease of understanding. Viewers immediately see the important elements with minimal effort. Note: Scores in the high-90s are rare and may indicate an extremely simplistic or sparse design with diminishing returns on usability.

Bottom line: use these bands to gauge design clarity at a glance, but interpret them with nuance. Rather than rigidly chasing a high score, consider your design’s purpose. A high score indicates that visual hierarchy (hotspots) are clear, naturally coming across, and in an intuitive, structured order. But: the Clarity Score is oblivious when it comes to content; always ask yourself if those hotspots are part of your design-objectives; you remain in charge.  

A lower clarity score isn’t always “bad” if it comes from intentional complexity (e.g. a dense info page or a montage of offers) – what matters is that critical elements still attract attention. Brainsight’s Clarity Score is a tool to highlight potential clutter issues and focus opportunities, but the optimal score will always depend on context and design goals. By aiming for a higher clarity within your use-case, you ensure key messages aren’t lost in the noise while still delivering an engaging, effective visual experience.

*Note that these bands are guidelines, not strictrules—context matters. For example, content-rich pages (like news sites) might naturally score lower, i.e. in the 40s, which can still be acceptable given the expected cognitive load of readers scrolling or searching, being engaged with the headlines and articles. But for visual assets like banners or skyscraper ads that need to cut through distraction instantly, higher clarity is crucial. Similarly, a busy promotional ad may score lower, but if the key call-to-action pops, it can still succeed. The Clarity Score is great to support your creative decisions—guiding validation and optimization, not dictating rigid thresholds.