Studio Notan LEARNING HUB
Launch Studio
Student version · University

Figure and Ground: A Design I Problem

This project treats notan as a figure-ground problem with strict rules. You will work through four constrained studies in Studio Notan and in cut paper, build one relief, and then combine at least two constraints in a final project presented to a professional standard. A process book records every study and every decision. The project ends with a formal critique and a written formal analysis of your final.

One large organic cut folds out over the left edge while five small triangles crowd the right edge and fold out to the right. The top and bottom edges are left whole, so value, size, shape and density all contrast at once.

the sheet’s front a flipped piece, showing the back the ground

Open Studio Notan

I can

  • analyze where and why a figure-ground reading reverses, using Gestalt terms
  • solve each constrained study at least three ways and justify the one I develop on formal grounds
  • calibrate a chromatic notan against a gray value plan and make one color read as two
  • build a hinged relief and explain how fold angle and cast shadow change what reads as figure
  • synthesize two constraints into a final that is resolved in the studio and clean in paper or ink
  • critique others’ work with precise vocabulary and write a formal analysis with cited sources

Words to know

figure-ground reversal
An image where either region can be read as the figure, so the reading flips.
constraint
A rule in the brief that narrows the possible solutions.
value interval
The difference in lightness between two areas.
simultaneous contrast
A color looking different because of the colors beside it.
relief
Work that projects from a flat ground, casting shadows.
process book
Your dated record of sources, studies, rejected ideas and reasons.
formal analysis
Writing that argues how a work’s visual organization produces its effect.

What to do

  1. Read the Flipping chapter before the first meeting. Start your process book with the date and the brief for Study 1.
  2. Study 1, edge only: every cut begins and ends on the sheet’s edge. Make at least six variations in the studio, export each, and cut the strongest in black and white paper.
  3. Study 2, nested: cut at least two shapes from pieces already flipped, sending each over a different edge from its parent. Study 3, asymmetric: no mirror pairs, one dominant piece, and no lean when you squint.
  4. Study 4, chromatic: set a gray value plan, then make three palettes, each with a locked color (not black, white or gray) and a different harmony, matching the plan in grayscale. Record every hex code.
  5. Relief: draw your sheet on a larger card and recut an edge-only study inside it, leaving the stretch on the sheet’s edge uncut as a hinge. Photograph it under one side light at two fold angles.
  6. Final: combine at least two constraints. Resolve it in the studio, save the project, print the Cut lines file at actual size, and cut or brush the final to the presentation standard.
  7. Critique: prepare as lead critic for two classmates’ works. Describe, analyze, interpret, then judge, and end with a revision that could be tested.
  8. Write the formal analysis: a claim, visual evidence from your final and at least three cited sources.

Challenge

Make a final in which the most important figure is a region you never cut, and defend in one paragraph why it reads as figure.

Check your work

  • Every study in my process book is dated, labeled with its constraint and meets its brief.
  • For each constraint I justified my chosen study against a rejected one on formal grounds.
  • My chromatic palettes keep the value order of my gray plan when viewed in grayscale.
  • My final is mounted with clean edges, no visible adhesive or pencil, and an even border.
  • My formal analysis makes an arguable claim and cites at least three sources, one of them primary.

Think about it

  • Which constraint produced your most surprising solution, and why do you think it did?
  • Where did the paper version or the relief contradict what the screen predicted?
  • Which critique comment changed how you see your final, and what would you test next?

Teacher version of this unit