Two websites.

http://www.zappos.com/welcome.zhtml?0911

This site uses hierarchy, but not very well because there are so many things vying for attention. There is not a good use of white space and the nothing carries dominance (not even the subtitles) because the majority of the text is weighted the same.

In contrast this site.http://www.ninewest.com Uses space effectively. There are not a lot of things to disperse your attention. On the homepage toes of the shoes do a good job of continuation, leading the eye to the featured shoe style. The item pages also use white space effectively. The viewers senses are not overwhelmed by too many choices; therefore, the pictures of the shoes dominate.