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figure-ground-cues

Apply specific visual cues to control figure-ground perception — shadow, elevation, scale, contrast, saturation, opacity, and texture. Use when designing layered interfaces, focus states, hover treatments, or any context where one element should clearly stand forward against others. Each cue contributes a portion of the figure-ground signal; combining cues strengthens the effect. The skill is selecting and calibrating cues for the desired level of separation.

plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/perception-and-hierarchy-principles/skills/figure-ground-cues/SKILL.md

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# Figure-Ground — visual cues

The figure-ground sorting that the user's perception performs depends on specific visual cues. As a designer, you choose which cues to use and how strongly to apply them, calibrated to the desired separation between figure and ground.

The major cues, with notes on their relative strength:

## Shadow / elevation

Strongest single cue for figure-ground in modern UI. A drop shadow under an element makes it appear closer to the viewer (figure), with the rest of the layout receding. Multiple levels of shadow create multiple levels of elevation.

Common implementations:
- Cards with subtle shadow (2–4px blur) for moderate elevation.
- Floating action buttons with stronger shadow (8–12px blur) for higher elevation.
- Modals with very prominent shadow + scrim for highest elevation.