FORMING VISUAL SETS
Design drawings are usually presented as a related set or group of
figures. Typical examples include a series of floor plans for a multistory
building or a sequence of building elevations. The spacing and alignment
of these individual drawings, as well as similarity of shape and
treatment. are the key factors in determining whether we read these
drawings as a set of related information or as individual figures.
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• Use white space and alignment to reinforce the
organization of the graphic and verbal information
of a presentation. Do not fill up white space unless
absolutely necessary.
• If you want two drawings to be read as individual
figures, the space between them should be equal to
the space between each drawing and the nearest
edge of the field.
• Moving the two drawings closer together causes
them to be read as a related group.
• If you move the drawings closer still, they will
appear to be a single viewrather than two related
but individual views.
• Properly related drawings that form a visual set
can themselves define the edge of a field for
another drawing or set of figures.
• Lines can serve to separate as well as to unify, to
emphasize, and to outline. Avoid using lines,
however, when spacing or alignment can achieve the
same purpose.
• Boxes can establish afield within a largerfield or
within the boundaries of the sheet or board. Be
aware, however, t hat using t oo many frames can
establish ambiguous figure-ground relationships.
• Atonal value can be used to define a field within a
large field. A darker background for an elevation
drawing, for example, can merge with a section
drawing. The foreground for a perspective can
become t hefield for aplan view of t hebuilding.
ARCHITECTURAL PRESENTATIONS I 177