Framing

"Frames are everywhere. A picture frame sets off a work of art from its surroundings, bringing attention to the work and lifting it apart from its setting."

Modern designers seek to eliminate frames. This supports the modern minimalist trend, white walls with no borders are what many designers look for in event spaces and galleries. I allows the border to not contribute to the art. If there is no border, nothing is detracting from their art/design/photography. It allows that design to jump out at the viewer.

In the everyday world, 'framing' can mean many things. "The caption of a picture is a frame that guides its interpretation, a billboard is framed by a landscape, a product is framed by its retail setting". Fences can mark the frames of private property,

"Cropping, borders,margins and captions are key resources of graphic design." Frames determine how we perceive information. They can help the viewer understand the image or object more or less. Framing can be both present and absent.

Camera Frames: The mechanical eye of the camera sees images that we don't. We can't only see a selected frame of a setting. Unlike the natural eye, cameras 'frame' every time a photograph is taken.

Cropping: "By cropping a picture, the designer can discover new images inside it." By altering the shape and sizing of a photograph you can create a completely different mood within the image. You can also help the viewer to focus on in important elements. Below is an example of how cropping can change a photograph completely, and give it different meanings.

An image seen alone, without any text, is open to interpretation. Adding text to a picture changes its meaning. Text and image combine in endless ways. Below are three examples, taken from Graphic Design: The New Basics, where text and image combinations can create different responses from an audience.