8 | COMPOSITION
Visual perception
Richard Garvey-Williams reveals the secrets of composition, in a series of extracts from his book
Despite the confusion of black and white stripes in this image, we can achieve closure remarkably rapidly by defining the contour and identity of the subject matter.
Richard Garvey-Williams
1 Proximity
We have a tendency to perceive objects or shapes that are close to one another as belonging to the same group. Even if the shapes, sizes and objects are different, they will appear as a group if they are close together. On account of this effect, the collective presence of a set of elements can become more meaningful and evident than their presence as separate elements. Elements grouped together can therefore create the illusion of a composite shape in space, even if the elements are not touching.