It is said that an empty canvas can be a powerful statement in its own rite. Plain white backgrounds don’t have to be boring or “vanilla“… These sorts of backgrounds, while remaining largely white and without the center-piece set as an adornment or accent from other colors, can still enjoy a bit of texture, pattern, or layout. A plain white background can easily be achieved when opening up a photo editing program, setting the background height and width, then publishing or exporting to a common background file format (like .bmp). However, we’re not fans of taking it without a bit or creative input – otherwise your message or sense of achievement would likely be lost.
The color white is considered to represent purity, innocence, and clean. White contains all colors in the spectrum, in it’s essence a color of equality and wholeness. The color also brings interpretations of a blankness, openness, and neutrality that, while not stimulating senses, provides an impact when combined with other colors or creative applications.
The psychology of color can be manipulated in a cultural sense, however tends to be close in its roots for humankind, generally speaking, being made more appropriate for culture and society as people decide.
Here are a couple of ways to get plain white backgrounds to stick out and still have some style, while offering a place to add more input – or a way to simplify while still being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Take a gander of some of the examples below and then the listed ideas below.
Use the rule of thirds and seek to apply any one of the following subjects –
- Apply an off-center scenic landscape (like one with snow)
- A room setting (like an office desk arrangement)
- An animal or textured wall with a lot or majority or white
- Get close in or use a close-up of an item, pattern or texture and amplify it
- Use shapes or patterns through an illustration and either desaturate or add white to it
- Apply different shades of white into an image set to a background’s width and height to give it flair
- Use a frame or photographic border to transform a plain white background into a spectacular talking piece
- Apply lighting effects on a white background to generate shadows or dramatic bokeh’s that make it a set of impactful plain white backgrounds