Negative space
Etymology
A modern compound of art and design instruction. "Negative" is from Latin "negare" (to deny), here meaning the absence of subject matter, as opposed to the "positive" space the objects occupy. The pairing dates to the visual-arts teaching of the 19th and 20th centuries.
noun phrase · /NEG-uh-tiv SPAYS/
The empty area around and between the subjects of an image, treated as part of the design.
What it names
It trains you to see emptiness as active — the gaps do compositional work — which is the key to reading logos, photographs, and the breathing room in good layout.
Example
The famous logo hides an arrow in the negative space between two letters.
Related idea
Negative space is the emptiness that shapes what surrounds a subject; the Japanese notion of "ma" treats such emptiness as a positive, meaningful interval in its own right. One is a compositional tool; the other is closer to a philosophy of the gap.
See also