• More Examples of Figure and Ground
  

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The three main stages of Figure and Ground

For our general purpose of perceiving the different states of a figure and ground relationship, we are making three distinct stages. They are:

1)    Clear Figure on Ground examples

2)    Figure Becoming Ground examples

3)    Figure/Ground Reversal examples

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Clear Figure shape on Ground

Shapes may generally be described as having some or all of the following characteristics:

1)    The “figure” is namable (ie. square, circle, box or face, house, horse or John, President Lincoln, Mick Jagger, etc.)

2)    The “figure” is centrally located within the ground (centered)

3)    The “figure” is a completely closed shape

4)    The “figure”primarily convex

5)    The “figure”, if colored, is usually warm in color

6)    The “figure” is more textural, patterned, or detailed than the “ground”

7)    The “figure” is vertically oriented

8)    The “figure”is object-like

9)    The “figure” is created from “regular” or recognizable shapes (circles, squares, etc.)

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Figure Becoming Ground (or Ground Becoming Figure) Shapes may be described as generally having all or most of the following characteristics:

1)    The “figure” usually makes use of implied line in some way

2)    Some parts of the ground contain elements of figure (see above)

3)    There is a light color nuance

4)    There are some shared elements

5)    There is an illusion of transparency

6)    There is coincident line

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Figure/Ground Reversal 

shapes may be described as generally having all or most of the following characteristics:

1)    The figure and ground share contour, shared edges or adjacency

2)    There tends to become an overall flat pattern

3)    There is a sequential alternating of attention

4)    There is a heightened sense of visual tension

5)    Both are equally nameable shapes

6)    The design might be described as “Escher-like”

7)    There might be tessellating pattern

8)    It might be an optical illusion

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