OUGD404

Study Task 04

Figure & Ground

Notes made in lecture

Figure

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). 

Ground

Everything that is not Figure is Ground. As the eye shifts from figure to figure the ground also shifts so that an object can go from figure to ground and back. Usually It is usually the smaller of the elements in the visual field.

White Space

Canvas / page space left between different elements of your design. Active white space is often asymmetrical, which makes the design look more dynamic and active and passive white space is the white space that occurs naturally, such as the area between words on a line or the space surrounding a logo or graphic element. 

For the study task I decided to bring in The Recorder issue one, this issue explorers typography and graphic design, exploring type's role in a wider cultural context through 100 pages.

This double page spread focuses a lot on figure as 8 images dominate the pages then again the title could be considered the figure as it perceives the ground around it well. It has plenty of white space, due to the images being compact.

The page on the left is heavily influenced by the figure of the text and the white space spaces makes this effective. The image is the smaller element in the visual field yet is still effective because of the white space above and below.

The figure is the text as the eye is drawn to this straight away on these two pages. These two pages do have very domineering figures, with the image on the left hand side also catching the eye. These pages may seem overcrowded the white space subtly settles this spread.