negative space
Shape around subjects
Negative space is the empty area around and between subjects in a visual composition—the background rather than the foreground, what's absent rather than present.
Artists and designers use negative space deliberately; a well-known example is the arrow hidden between the E and x in the FedEx logo.
The concept extends beyond visual arts: The silence in the conversation was its own kind of negative space.
Unprintable gap characters
- voidWithout legal effect
- emptinessAbsence of substance
- marginEdge of a page
- breathing roomSpace for relief
figure-ground · silhouette · outline · background · canvas · spacing · frame · border
Focused attention practice
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- reflectionReturned light or thought
emptiness · quiet · solitude · mindfulness · tranquility · serenity · absence · nothingness
Perceptual separation of object and background
- optical illusionMisleading visual perception
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
- reversalComplete change of direction
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
hidden image · depth · foreground · background · perspective · afterimage · contrast · inversion
Lack of complexity
- restraintControl over impulses
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
- unclutteredFree from disorder
- spaciousnessAbundant available area
elegance · subtlety · zen · reduction · essentialism · less is more · purity · spareness
Steadiness or amount owed
- asymmetryAbsence of balanced form
- proportionComparative relation of parts
- tensionStretched or strained state
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
visual weight · counterbalance · alignment · rhythm · flow · cropping · framing · focal point
whitespace
Unprintable gap characters
breathing room · figure-ground · silhouette · outline · background · canvas · spacing · frame · border · contrast
meditation
Focused attention practice
reflection · emptiness · quiet · solitude · mindfulness · tranquility · serenity · absence · nothingness · interval
figure-ground
Perceptual separation of object and background
- optical illusionMisleading visual perception
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
- reversalComplete change of direction
gestalt · hidden image · depth · foreground · background · perspective · afterimage · contrast · inversion
simplicity
Lack of complexity
- restraintControl over impulses
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
- unclutteredFree from disorder
spaciousness · elegance · subtlety · zen · reduction · essentialism · less is more · purity · spareness · openness
balance
Steadiness or amount owed
- asymmetryAbsence of balanced form
- proportionComparative relation of parts
- tensionStretched or strained state
harmony · visual weight · counterbalance · alignment · rhythm · flow · cropping · framing · focal point · rest area
- graffititagging, throw-ups, throw-up, tag, pieces
- tribal tattoosHawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Polynesian, blackwork
- artfine art, Renaissance, painters, masterpieces, paint
- graphic designlogo, font, typography, layout, color
- photographycamera, photo, flash, lens, shooting
- art techniquespainting, drawing, sketching, shading, blending
negative spacepositive space
Occupied area in composition
figure · subject matter · focal point · form · subject
negative spacefullness
State of being complete
busyness · clutter · saturation · crowdedness · complexity
space, negative, negation, negativity, negatives, negating, negated, negativism, nonnegative