Quicklinks to all course lessons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Lesson 5 sections: 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-JFF 5-IDEA
Lesson 5 sections: 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-JFF 5-IDEA
A05-02: Elements of Art and Design: Space
Objectives:
- Understand the purpose of, and how space can be used in graphic design and art.
- Understand that negative space is just as important as the space used by elements in your design. You need to carefully consider how you've used negative space in any design effort.
Learn:
Space: "Space is the area provided for a particular purpose. Space includes the background, foreground and middle ground. Space refers to the distances or areas around, between and within things. It has two kinds: negative and positive." Wikipedia - Elements of Art
You can create the illusion of space on a two dimensional surface in a number of ways:
Space: "Space is the area provided for a particular purpose. Space includes the background, foreground and middle ground. Space refers to the distances or areas around, between and within things. It has two kinds: negative and positive." Wikipedia - Elements of Art
You can create the illusion of space on a two dimensional surface in a number of ways:
Overlapping - any object that overlaps another will be perceived to be in front of the other.
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Size - smaller objects will be perceived to be further away than larger objects.
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Placement on the surface - Objects placed lower on the canvas will be perceived to be closer that objects placed higher.
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Detail - Objects with more detail will be perceived to be closer that objects with less detail.
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Color and Value - Objects that are closer will be more intense in color, and deeper in value than objects that are further away.
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Linear Perspective - objects recede and get smaller the closer they get to the vanishing points
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In design, there are two kinds of space - positive and negative. The positive space (or positive shapes) are the objects within an image. In the ballerina photo - she is the positive space or shape. The negative space (or negative shapes) are the spaces that surround the positive shape. Each is as important as the other and should be considered when creating designs. Often, it is fun to play with the interaction between positive and negative space, such as in the image of the amnesty poster. In the portrait drawing below and at the right, the negative space plays an important role in the balance and design of the lady with the flowers.
You've learned the principle of proximity, where space plays a critical role in how we group or organize objects on a page. Remember, what is not there is just as important as what is there - space is every bit as important as the objects contained within it. You can rank the importance of elements in your designs by where you place them in the space of the canvas. For example, elements that take up more space gain importance in a message hierarchy. |
Here, the negative space is just as important ast the subject herself.
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Please watch these short videos from John McWade...
Video: Design tutorial: The power of empty space | lynda.com (6:17)
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Video: Working in a tiny space (1:23)
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Video: Supersize it! (4:29)
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Video: Figure-ground (0:36)
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Below are examples of using space creatively...
This e-learning infographic uses (and teaches about using) space to enhance readability.
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A food and wine festival poster that uses negative space creatively.
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In this poster, negative space (red) is used cleverly against the positive space (white), to create new meaning.
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In this portrait, the negative spaces were planned just as carefully and the positive spaces (the woman herself). The combination makes a striking portrait.
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