Negative & Positive Space

The use of negative space in modern day design can really improve the way it is perceived by its user. It is a flat simple way of designing that still allows the user to easily understand what is going on in the image. It has been used in art for years, and an early example would be Rubin’s Vase, an optical illusion which allows the viewer decide what they see.

In modern days, it has excellent use in logo and web design. It allows you to create multiple ways to view the same content, but also uses the blank space to emphasise its content, as you can see here in some excellent examples;

In logo design it can also help give the logo additional meaning it wouldn’t otherwise have, as you can see in some of these examples;

Positive space is the actual object whereas the negative space is the space around that. In design if you mask each space in black and white, so the object stands out and then you flip it around, it allows you see the same image in a new perspective. You can see what I mean here;

By being generous with the amount of space that you give objects within a design you allow them to breathe makes them much more defined and eye catching, and the flow of content will progress much easier, and it will allow the user to be much more engaged.

This can even be used in type with things like line height and letter spacing, as you can see above there are clear differences with the way you layout type.
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