OUGD404 Study Task 05 - Figure/Ground

Design Principles

Figure/Ground

_{The eye differentiates an object from its surrounding area. A form, silhouette, or shape is naturally perceived as figure (object) while the surrounding area is perceived as ground (background)}

_{Balancing figure and ground can make perceived image more clearly.}

_{Playing around with that relationship with what is applied to what is useful}

_{So the part of  a composition that we pay attention to is called figure. The figure is also called a positive shape. in a simple composition there may be only one figure. In a complex composition there will be several things to notice, as we look from one to another}

_{Everything that is not ground. As attention shifts from figure to figure ground also shifts so that an object can go from figure to figure to ground to ground}

_{When the figure is surrounded space in the composition the ground looks like a shape (the format) with a hole in the shape of the figure. In this case the ground looks like a background for the figure and there is a shallow space developed.}

_{If the figure contacts the edge of the format of the other figure shapes the ground seems to surround the figure an a series of ground shapes are made. These care called negative shapes and no longer appear as background. The space stays flat.}

_{White space}

_{White space refers to the canvas/page space left in between different element of your design.}

_{Active white space, conscious effort of white space added purpososly}

_{Passive white space}

_{This is the white space that occurs naturally, such as the area between the words on a line, or the space surrounding a logo or graphic element.}

_{White space is important in how we process information, leads the eye.}

_{A generous amount of white space gives a sense of luxury or ‘lifestyle’}

_{Apple advertising vs dell advertising}

_{Although dell’s excess of information could be seen as more reliable apples marketing also could give this impression, the use of white space and lack of information gives the advertisement a statement for not needing a lot of information and doesn’t need a long explanation}

_{Apple identity – use of white space}

_{(White space also doesn’t have to be white)}

Examples of white space:

_{Braun identity masters ability to use minimal layout for marketing}

NME magazine

 

Music magazine NME featuring bloc party on this issues cover. The ground colour and the space brings the title 'bloc party' and the figure of the image to focus, the pink against the black is colourful and stands out effectively on the shelf, overall I think the design is well balanced in its use of ground and figure along with text.

This pages use of space with colour has been used to highlight and separate the different text from one other, this use of space and colour is effective in doing this and brings focus to the text surrounded by a different ground colour.

Something to note is the colour of the ground and how it creates an interesting shape adding to the casual and quirky asthetic of the magazines 

This is an example of how white space can be used to bring an immediate focus something, in this case its looking at different fashion items, the text underneath each image has been placed as a description and with plenty of breathing space giving it easier readability.

In this case an image has been used as the ground and basic white bold text to bring clarity to the busy and colourful ground.