How Do We Read? Figure & Ground/ White Space

FIGURE AND GROUND

figure - what we look at/part of the composition we pay attention too
ground - everything that isn't the figure

The eye differentiates an object from its background, this is done to balance the subject and its background to change the focus of the design. Everything in a design will be seen as one or the other, figure/subject or ground/background and the relationship between them is mutually exclusive as it can constantly change depending on where the viewer looks and what causes the most interest. Neither can be perceived except in relation to the other because you can look at one without seeing the other, they are both needed to supports the way the eye works and what the designs wants the audience to look at. aThe figure-ground relationship is also complementary. Figure and ground can enhance or detract from each other, and organizing the two in relation to each other is one of the more important aspects of design. It sets a context for how your design communicates and how it will be interpreted as it communicates what is needed, it shows the audience what the need to look at first and why.

simple figure - one figure only and a ground
complex figure - several things to notice at once, different attractions on the design work.

WHITE SPACE

White space is the 'ultimate luxuary' in graphic design , its used to show the designer has lots of room to spare and to frame the important object in the piece. The less crowed a design piece is the more often the more elitist its attitude. Usually used in more expensive newspapers of magazines it shows wealth as its not use by the more working class tabloids that work of showing as much information as they can in their designs. this had lead to white space being used in design to create elegance and simpleness, focus on the objects rather than packing in as much data as possible.