The Gestalt figure-ground design principle states that people tend to intuitively separate objects as either being in the foreground or the background. Objects either appear prominently in the front (the figure) or recede into the back (the ground).

Things get interesting when the relationship between the background and foreground becomes ambiguous and leads to various interpretations of an image. This principle works through the use of positive and negative space, color, contrast, size, and position.

The figure-ground principle helps users understand information hierarchy and guide users' attention to the specific content.^[1]