Hierarchy & Negative Space

Hierarchy, or the use of one dominant object mixed with sub-ordinate objects, allows you to display a group of things while drawing attention to the focal point.

Although the arrangement in this example consists of seven items, your eye is immediately drawn toward the largest square because it's the biggest item and because the overall display is in a square shape. This is a good technique for themed displays because it helps unify disparate objects.

Wonder Walls

 

 

Sometimes the wall area between items, called negative space, is as interesting as the items themselves. In the next example, a square and four identical rectangles are positioned so the negative space creates a pinwheel effect.

It's easiest to draw attention to the negative space when your objects are in a color that contrasts with your wall, such as white against red. Our sample arrangement has the added benefit of giving a single item more importance by framing it.