Negative space is the space which surrounds an object in a image. In art, negative space is extremely important, as the use of negative space can have a dramatic impact on the mood and tone of the finished work. It is also an important consideration in design, and the proper use of negative space can be especially challenging for typographers, as subtle differences can cross the line between artful success and complete disaster.

In a simple example of negative space, if you were to trace your hand on a piece of paper and color the tracing in, the white space around your hand would be considered negative space. You could also perform a reversal, coloring in the area around the tracing, but the colored area would still be considered negative space, since the hand is the object in the image. As you can imagine if you think about the differences between these two examples, the use of negative space in a composition plays a very important role in the finished work.

Artful use of negative space can change the viewer's perception of the object being depicted, or it may create a very specific mood. Negative space is often used to frame objects in art, drawing the attention of the viewer to the focal point of the piece. Many people like to create equal amounts of negative and positive space in a composition to yield a harmonious balance, but this is not required, and playing with the proportions of negative to positive space can actually yield very interesting results.

In addition to being considered in flat visual arts, negative space is also a factor in three dimensional compositions. In Japan, for example, the issue of negative space is considered in garden design, with people referring to negative space as ma, a Japanese word for “gap.” Negative space is also considered in dance choreography and the positioning of actors on stage in productions ranging from opera to monologues.

In typography, negative space is very important, whether a typographer is composing a magazine article or an art broadside. Depending on how the piece is composed, negative space can change the meaning in a number of ways. Poorly used negative space may make a piece hard to read or unpleasant to look at, while well-balanced negative space may draw attention to particularly important or notable pieces of the composition. In some instances, the negative space can become as notable as the positive space, especially in the case of some company logos.