OUGD404 - Study task 05 - Figure/ Ground

The eye differentiates objects from the surrounding area. A form, silhouette, or shape is naturally perceived as figure (object) whilst the surrounding area is seen as ground. Balancing figure and ground is important.

FIGURE

Seeing several things within an image

GROUND

everything that is not figure is ground When attention changes between parts of an image the Figure can be changed

The figure is a positive shape and is important to balance between this and ground. Simple compositions however have only one figure whilst there are more to notice within more complex compositions.

WHITE/ NEGATIVE SPACE

The canvas and page space left between different elements of design

ACTIVE WHITE SPACE

conscious white space. Asymmetrical design.

PASSIVE WHITE SPACE

Occurs naturally, such as the space between words or the space surrounding a logo

White space doesn’t have to be white which is why it is also called negative space.

STUDY TASK 5

We were asked to pick our own magazine and analyse the design of it. It was important to highlight the key design features. Because of this I used a magazine I picked up from village bookstore last year named verities. Despite their irregularities of layout between pages they cohesively adhere to those features looked at within this lecture. 

They work well with white space by positively displaying photography and positioning text so it becomes more intriguing. 

They break up the text and place it at different areas of the page and also add large white space borders around articles. These features create a magazine that becomes visually interesting making people want to read larger bodies of text.

This magazines content seems linear which would link to the idea of a consistent grid throughout the publication. Despite being seemingly complex, I feel the grid may be quite simple with regularity of image shape, size and positioning between pages.