Peace and a purple stain.

In Prague, Czech Republic, tucked away in a peaceful pocket of the historic district, Mala Strana, lies a peace wall.

(Personal photo)

Also known as the John Lennon Wall, the wonder consists of many layers of artistic graffiti that has collected on the wall over the past few decades. Amongst the plethora of The Beatles’-themed song lyrics, doodles and messages lies a white-painted peace sign with the word, “Imagine” scrawled out in the center. Despite the chaos surrounding the peace sign, the symbol serves as the wall’s focal point. This is achieved through emphasis by contrast – the cleanliness and whiteness of the peace sign contrasts strongly against its colored “background.” This dramatic change in color naturally draws attention to the contrasting focal point, which also brings attention to the overall meaning of the wall itself: peace.

Almost completely opposite of the appearance of the John Lennon Wall is a simplistic work by artist, Cy Twombly.

(Personal photo)

The work contains only two things: a passage by the ancient Greek poet, Sappho, and a smudge of purple. Twombly randomly scribbles out Sappho’s passage – “Like a hyacinth in the mountains trampled by shepherds until only a purple stain remains on the ground” – towards the bottom of the blank canvas. Despite the passage’s symbolic meaning of lost maidenhood, the purple stain located above the quote achieves its status as the work’s focal point through the emphasis of contrast and isolation. The smudge of purple stands out against the blank canvas by being the only source of color in the work, as it also stands out by being isolated to the point where one cannot help but be drawn in to focusing on the colored stain that sits off to the side of the passage. Even if people do not always consciously think of such aspects like the role that emphasis plays in how things are perceived, designers’ strategic use of focal points can easily – and unconsciously – encourage people to take a closer look at something that might otherwise seem quite ordinary.