Design Nomenclature / Composition
Figure–ground
Also called figure and ground, positive and negative, figure-ground segregation
- Composition
- Type
- Color
- 2D & 3D
The partition of a field into a form that has shape and a ground that runs behind it. The figure owns the shared contour; the ground does not, which is why ground reads as continuous and shapeless. Small, enclosed, convex, and lower regions tend to win figure status.
In practice
'Ambiguous figure–ground' in a studio usually means the layout is unreadable, not that a reversible Rubin vase has been achieved.