Negative Space

For the duration of this post, I will be referring to negative space interchangeably with "breathing room," as the latter term feels more positive (!) and applicable. 

Focal Points in Design

Negative space is an essential concept in many different art forms, including graphic design, interior decorating, photography, film, and illustration. People are drawn to visuals that give them a clear sense of where to look. Visuals that demand attention over their surroundings are called focal points, and they are the center of activity and attention. 

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Terminology I Use

Frames - objects that exist in negative space to contain focal points

Negative space - breathing room around focal points that give them interest

Chatter - visual busyness that pulls away from the focal points and frames

Competition - minor focal points that distract or take away attention
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Focal point - the object of attention, meant to draw the eye 

Some of my favorite focal points:

• An all black outfit with a red accent
• Minimalist movie posters with a flat color and 1 object to identify the film.
• Business cards with simple initials on a black background.
• Black and white illustrations with only one accent color, especially yellow or red.

Inverse from negative space + focal points is "chatter" - information that has too many facets to be digested concisely.
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Some of my least favorite forms of chatter:

• The walls of my dorm room in college. I had posters from floor to ceiling with no gaps or visual continuity.
• Checker and polka dot patterns.
• The Thor Ragnarok movie poster (sorry).
• Mac desktops when they have like a bajillion files saved on it.

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"Breathing Room" Applied

The concepts of negative space, focal points, and chatter can come in handy to determine what we find most important when arranging our lives.
​Try to think of your own examples for each as you read along! 

Home

chatter: collage pictures on the wall. magazines on the coffee table. figurine collection on your desk. clothing crammed in the closet.
focal points: pictures and prints. plants. special figurines. computer and appliance screens. 
breathing room: walls, floors, tables and counters, desks, carpets

note:  When it comes to the home, the right combination of focal points and negative space can make you feel comfortable in each room. Breathing room can also be helpful when considering your closet. It is visually soothing to leave room for all of your belongings so they can rest without pressure. 

Wardrobe

chatter: high-contrast patterns. many busy items in one outfit.
focal point: a cute graphic tee. a statement necklace. color-block heels. bright colored cap. cute styled dress. 
breathing room: BASICS. denim. grey/black/navy /brown/maroon shirts or pants. sneakers. trusty sweatshirt or jacket.

Note:  Especially for fashion, one person's focal point may be another person's chatter. Also, having comfortable clothing is a great way to minimize your sensory experience and focus on the "statement" of your outfit. Building up a wardrobe of clothes you feel both comfy and good in is the best way to minimize your time spent worrying about what you wear.

Mind

chatter: various to-dos, speculations, worries, opinions
focal point: your main stress, your strongest gratitude, your biggest goal, your most immediate problem
breathing room: meditation, journaling, list making, sleep

Note: Meditation is an obvious example of breathing space for your mind. However, giving yourself moments to daydream, regroup, or let your mind go blank can be a helpful form of mindful negative space. Journals and lists can help unload your mind onto paper and remove the burden of remembering everything. 

Goals

chatter: idle media. friends that don't keep in touch. unfinished projects we no longer feel passionate about.
focal point: getting your college degree. achieving strong mental health. getting in shape. building stronger relationships.
breathing room: vacations. days off. planning days. cleaning days.

​Note: This one is very...abstract, but I feel like it works just as well as the other themes.
We tend to function better when we have only a few strong and clear focuses in our lives and we give them the space to breathe. 

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Let's use focal points to tidy up a room! 

Go into a room and observe the path your idle eye makes. What does it stop on first? Where does it linger? Is there something that is a focal point that you'd rather not be? Or something that has faded into the background that you wish you could appreciate more?
Picking a focal point for a room or a wall can help you simplify your vision.
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​PROCESS

1. Pick out current focal points.
2. How much negative space do you currently have?
3. Where is there excessive chatter?
4. Pick your ideal focal points. Try not to pick more than three for any given wall.
5. Create negative space around your new focal points.
6. Move chatter and competition out of that negative space.

EX: My Office

1. Current focal points. My monitors and the figurines above my desk are currently fighting for space. My eye is drawn to the collage frame off to the side and keeps going to the corner of the room because my writing desk is kitty-cornered there.
2. Negative space. There is very little negative space. Everything is evenly distributed. It makes me feel uncomfortable when I stand at my desk.
3. Chatter. The collage frame and the figurines have the most chatter. The books holding up my monitors come in second place. Cords are not helping matters. 
4. Ideal focal points. I'd like to appreciate the pictures above my monitors, my monitors themselves, a couple figurines on the shelves. For the wall to the side, I'd like to focus on my Eva painting and the wall scroll.
5. Create negative space. I can clear up the space on the shelves, the space around my monitors, the corner of the room in general, the wall surrounding the Eva painting, the cabinets my printer sits on, the books holding my monitors, and the cords under my desk. Lots of options. 
6. Move the chatter. I can reduce the number of figurines and use monitor stands instead of books. I can take down the collage frame and the cheap plastic frame for my college poster. I can move my writing desk to the side of my computer desk to draw my eye away from that corner.​​ I can buy cord runners for my computer wires. 

Before and After!

Office Tidy 2: Electric Boogaloo

Drawing my current office space made me realize a future area I could declutter even more: the various objects under my desk. I can find a different place for the waste basket and a way to cover the cord box. 
One thing I really enjoy about tidying is how solving one problem will make other solutions clearer. 
​Will keep you all updated if I improve this section! 

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Conclusion

I'm not making this blog because I think I have it all figured out. Heck, my office was still a long way off from my ideal layout when I moved in about a year ago! It was still far off only a few weeks ago! Only recently have my tastes changed to prefer minimalism, so anyone reading this is along for the journey. Negative space is nothing new, but it was fun to figure out how to apply it to more abstract parts of my life.