page_title: Figure-ground (cartography)
section_title: Influences on figure–ground contrast
hierarchical_section_title: Figure-ground (cartography) / Influences on figure–ground contrast
caption_attribution_description: A map showing the location of the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean. Created by NormanEinstein, Jully 19, 2005.
context_page_description: Figure-ground contrast, in the context of map design, is a property of a map in which the map image can be partitioned into a single feature or type of feature that is considered as an object of attention, with the remainder of the map being relegated to the background, outside the current focus of attention. It is thus based on the concept of figure–ground from Gestalt psychology. For example, in a street map with strong figure-ground contrast, the reader would be able to isolate and focus attention on individual features, like a given street, park, or lake, as well as layers of related features, like the street network.
  Strong figure-ground contrast has been seen as a desirable goal of map design, because it helps the map reader to perceive distinct geographic phenomena in the map. This allows more complex composition techniques such as Visual hierarchy to organize these phenomena into clear structures that help readers use the map for its intended purposes.
context_section_description: Several visual patterns are believed to contribute to figure-ground contrast, such that features that exhibit these patterns are easier to recognize as figures. These have been largely adopted from Gestalt psychology.
  Differentiation or heterogeneity, the amount of difference in appearance between the intended figure and the intended ground. A strong figure looks significantly different than everything in the ground, while the elements of the ground look relatively similar to each other. This can be accomplished using almost any of the visual variables, such as color, size, and texture. Achieving difference is more important than using prescribed design techniques on the figure and ground; for example, a dark figure stands out on a light background just as much as a light figure stands out on a dark background.
  Closure, the appearance of a figure to be completely contained within the visual field, and thus entirely surrounded by ground. A figure with closure stands out because it looks like "a thing." The proclivity for closed objects is so strong in human visual processing that humans will perceive closure even when figures are only mostly closed.
  Centrality, in which features near the center of the visual field (the map) are easier to isolate as figures than features on the edge. The concept of centrality is important because the object located in the center of a map is most often assumed to be the figure. Other map elements can be centered in the remaining visual space after the figure has been centered.
  Size, in which smaller elements are more easily recognized as figures than those that fill the visual field. This is one of the few factors in which figure-ground and visual hierarchy have opposite effect.
  Interposition is when some features appear to be "in front" of others in the visual field, with the former partially obscuring the latter. The former thus has a stronger recognition as a figure. This property could be considered a more complex use of closure.
  Articulation utilizes texture to differentiate figure from ground. One common example of using articulation on a map is differentiating a continent from the ocean. The ocean, in most cases, will be the ground and the continent will be the figure. By adding fine-textured shading to water, the continent pops out visually as the figure. Another method that can be employed for articulation is called vignetting, or the inclusion of brightness gradients at the land-water edge.
  Contour is the strength of the boundary or edge of a figure. The figure is formed by a contour or outline (as opposed to an isometric contour line), the common boundary between the figure and ground, usually through a brightness contrast. If a figure is not separated entirely from the ground, a simple black contour line can be drawn around the figure enclosing it and thus differentiating it from the ground.
caption: In this map, figures like Oman and the Arabian Sea are less obvious due to a lack of differentiation. The Land and the Ocean have strong differentiation, but can be difficult to recognize which is figure because neither is closed. Closure and Centrality makes Oman easier to isolate as a figure than India.
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