If the main figure and background both have similar value in a composition, what is the most effective correction?

Correct answer: Increase value contrast between figure and background

Direct answer: B, increase the value contrast between the figure and the background. Value means how light or dark a colour or area appears, even when its hue is different. To read a figure clearly, the eye needs some separation between the figure and the ground. If both have nearly the same lightness or darkness, their edges merge and the figure loses visual clarity. A correction can make the figure lighter and the background darker, or make the figure darker and the background lighter; the important point is the difference in value. A is wrong because making colours more similar reduces separation and can make the merging worse. C is irrelevant unless the problem concerns written information. D changes presentation, not the light-dark relationship. Memory cue: when figure and ground blend, think contrast of value before changing decoration.