Outlier

What do you see when you look at the cover of Studio Seeing? Most people report that they see the faces first. Then they discover the vase. To see the vase, viewers shift their attention, making the faces into ground and the vase into figure. Both readings are stable, but it is impossible to see both the faces and the vase at the same time.

Do you see anything else?

Do you notice the letter “I” in the word “Studio” does not appear as the other letters that the designer positioned over the faces and the vase? Those letters appear as a transparency, revealing the edges of the faces and the vase. The “I” does not. It floats. It is an outlier, but it works. Why does it work and yet it breaks the rules of all the other letters? Some viewers report, “I never would have seen that” when their attention is drawn to the outlier.

Here is the answer. The letter “I” is part of the word “STUDIO,” and is an example of a part-whole condition. Namely, the figure (the letter “I”) appears integrated in the ground—the word “STUDIO.” Also, the title of the book contains a block of all white letters. The designer positioned the letter ‘I” within an implicit block of similar sized white letters. It is the implicit block of white letters that creates a ground, providing a “Locale” for the outlier “I.”

The “I” is also an “eye” and stands as a metaphor for the experience of seeing discussed in Studio Seeing: A Practical Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Perception. See more about Figure-Ground in Studio Seeing Chapter 5. Beyond Face or Vase. For more about the organizational forces at play see Studio Seeing Chapter 6. Forces in the Field.