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Ohno Type School

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143 points tobr | 1 comments | 06 Oct 25 10:18 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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philipallstar ◴[10 Oct 25 11:39 UTC] No.45537745[source]▶
> What we want is a balance between the top and bottom negative spaces.

One thing I never understand is why they say "negative spaces" instead of just "spaces".

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kqr ◴[10 Oct 25 11:51 UTC] No.45537849[source]▶
In visual design, it is things that occupy space. The areas left unoccupied by things are called negative space.

So if you hang a massive painting, that painting takes up positive space. The parts of the wall that are not covered by that painting make up the negative space.

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philipallstar ◴[10 Oct 25 12:00 UTC] No.45537933[source]▶
I've just never encountered a situation where that's a necessary distinction. If I say "the painting takes up too much space on the wall" I don't need to say "the painting has too much positive space" nor "the painting removes too much negative space".
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1. kqr ◴[10 Oct 25 13:49 UTC] No.45539019{3}[source]▶
Just last week I was hanging photos with my wife in our home and after she had proposed a placement I told her "I don't like the balance of the negative space there". I could have said "I don't feel like the parts of the wall not taken up by photos are balanced there" but "negative space" is a convenient abstraction. (Note that this is different from the photos themselves being unbalanced, which is also a concern but was not a problem then.)

Think of it like a foreach loop. Sure, it's equivalent to the corresponding for(;;)-style loop but it's also a convenient mental shortcut.