Ip Man

The set designer for this movie was Wai Yan Wong.
The above images are screenshots from the movie, in the film Ip goes from living in a lavish mansion to a derelict building with tattered walls and broken doors.

There are certain factors that the set designer has used to create these two striking forms of living to depict the situation the family is.

•  The first image, shows the rich mansion and Wai Yan Wong has placed ornamental items such as vases and plants to convey the richness the family lives in so the viewer can understand how well off the family in the film are. This is a way of projecting this message without bluntly stating it, sort of symbolic. The carpet is another item to consider, it is rich in detail to show it could have been specially made.
• The second image, shows how the family's situation has changed through the movie, here the walls have no decoration, the family has little possession besides the clothes their wearing, the floor is cold, hard concrete.

Pointing this out is to show that removing certain items or changing the appearance of the set helps to convey part of the movie's storyline because it is another way of conveying a message to viewer without having to say it in the dialogue.

Sets are designed to do this.