FIGURE-GROUND CONTRAST AND GROUPING are two visual design elements used to identify the importance, progression, and relation of information in a visual field. This article describes the principles of figure-ground contrast and grouping, and their use in documents.

Viewers search visual fields for focal points, selectively searching for information related to their goals. Experienced readers rely on visual conventions like headers, titles, and dominant placement of important information to skim, scan and predict the content of a document and its usefulness. (Burnett, 2005) Figure-ground contrast and grouping guide viewers to important information and imply relationships between visual elements.

Figure-ground contrast is the degree to which an item stands out from its background.

High contrast calls attention. It creates a focal point and usually signals importance. The mail symbol in the second box stands out less than the symbol in the first because the figure-ground contrast is less. However, gray can provide good contrast against a white background. Visual noise is anything that detracts from figure-ground contrast. The busy background of the third box creates visual noise and reduces clarity.

Grouping creates visual cohesion by organizing images into distinct units. Three important principles of visual grouping are likeness of form, spatial nearness, and division. (Kostelnick, 1998) 

In the first box we notice lines, circles, and the near half-circle of the connectors. We group objects based on likeness of form when other grouping principles are not apparent. In the second box, placement in close groups competes with, and overrides, our habit of sorting by shape. When lines are drawn, they create divisions into distinct groups.

Within a document, figure-ground contrast and grouping help the reader locate information and decide how to progress.

Degrees of figure-ground contrast can be accomplished through effective use of text style, fonts, white space and shading. Figure-ground contrast creates focal point, emphasizes important information, and allows readers to skim and scan for content.

Grouping organizes images into distinct units, allowing viewers to predict the document's purpose and content.

The principles of figure-ground contrast and grouping can be used for emphasis, clarity, conciseness, tone, and credibility. Visual designers will choose degrees of contrast and grouping styles to meet the rhetorical needs of each document.

Related articles in the Encycolpedia of Educational Technology:

Gestalt Theory
Visual Perception: Gestalt Laws

Nancy O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan, N. (2005). Gestalt principles of design: Figure-ground contrast and grouping. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved July 15, 2010, from file:///D:/实验室/eet/articles/gestaltprinciples/start.htm