Asian Journal of Information Technology
ISSN: Online 1993-5994ISSN: Print 1682-3915
Abstract
This study uses short videos related to poster design on the TikTok platform as samples, selecting the cover or first frame of 150 publicly available videos as the analysis object, and recording publicly visible interaction indicators such as likes, favorites, shares, and comments. The study employs content analysis methods, encoding the cover from six dimensions: text density, readability, dominant visual element, layout structure, color contrast, and visual complexity, describing the visual grammar types and combination patterns of poster covers in the platform context. The study found that the photo‐dominant type is the most common dominant visual category, accounting for 64.7%. Layout structures are primarily centered and top‐bottom, accounting for 45.3% and 34.0%, respectively. At the combination level, the photo‐dominant type combined with centered or top‐bottom layouts constitutes the mainstream paradigm, whereas the abstract‐graphic‐dominant type more often co‐occurs with freeform layouts, indicating a more experimental tendency. Based on this, this study proposes a reusable visual grammar description framework for covers, providing empirical basis for the organization and hierarchical control of poster cover information in mobile browsing scenarios.
How to cite this article:
Zhang Jimin and Yan Xuning. A Study on the Visual Grammar of TikTok Poster Design and Short Video Covers: Content Analysis of Dominant Visual and Layout Structures.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/10.36478/makajit.2026.1.1.11
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1682-3915/10.36478/makajit.2026.1.1.11