Describe the Gestalt Principles | D+M Design 3. Continuance is when your eyes are led in a particular direction. Figure/Ground is when there is a stark contrast between the object and the background so it is easily identifiable as to what is figure ground and what is background. Similarity is when two or more of the same or similar objects are shown.
Closure is when you are able to perceive a whole or complete the object without having all the parts given. Proximity is when your eyes form groups of similar objects due to how close they are to each other. Closure A complete figure can be seen even when parts of it are missing, due to the figure(s) surrounding it. Continuance The figure leads the eye to follow a certain direction or path. Figure/Ground A figure is clearly placed prominently against a solid background (there is a clear foreground and background). Proximity The eye associates certain figures into groups, due to their close positions (their proximity). Similarity Similarity: similar objects that are close also tend to form a group. Gestalt Principles of Perception: 1 - Figure Ground Relationships.
Almost everything that makes graphic design work can be found in a set of laws and principles collectively known as the Gestalt principles of perception. There is no more powerful tool at a designer’s disposal than a comprehensive grasp of these principles. By the same token, those who don’t have a good grasp of them are lost when faced with design projects and often go “fishing” on design gallery sites, being relegated to cliché motifs and layouts. But clients deserve better than our vague understanding. If you haven’t already, resolve to learn the Gestalt principles of perception. Why learn this stuff? At the risk of sounding like a late night TV commercial, Gestalt principles of perception help to take the guesswork out of design.
The name makes them sound complicated, but Gestalt principles are not so difficult to get your head around. First, here are simple definitions for the Gestalt principles of perception: Figure Ground Relationship Law of Prägnanz Uniform Connectedness Closure. Gestalt Principles of Perception - 4: Common Fate. The principle of common fate is vital to our perception of how the things around us are or are not related to one another. We use this principle’s mechanisms in almost every aspect of our lives, not just in our enjoyment and discrimination of design. In fact, without our perception and reliance on the principle of common fate, we could lose our very lives at any moment (cue dramatic music!). Okay, I’m only exaggerating a little bit. But like all the Gestalt principles, common fate is vital to both our design exercise and our daily life outside of design. Common Fate Humans tend to perceive elements moving in the same direction as being more related than elements that are stationary or that move in different directions.
Here’s a simple example (made by R.A. Clearly, the elements in this example that move together are more related to each other than they are to the stationary elements. Take, for instance, driving a car. Using common fate in design Extrapolation beyond the obvious. Gestalt Principles of Perception - 5: Closure. It is no accident that the final installment in this article series deals with closure. I’ve put it off until last not because of the clever pun, but because unlike the other Gestalt principles, a responsible examination of the principle of closure involves a host of harrowing contexts: war, deception, political and economic ruin, broken homes, broken hearts, blood, tears, and needless agony.
Are you sure you want to get involved with this principle? Are you really so eager to get your hands dirty? Despite what you’ll find everywhere else on the subject, closure ain’t just for making clever logos. The principle of closure is literally about drawing conclusions. We humans are very adept at drawing conclusions from less-than-all the information. So initially here I’m going to avoid the cliché examples and try to get you thinking a bit differently about closure, even allow you the chance to experience it yourself (your job then is to reflect on that experience and dissect it). Filling In. Gestalt Principles of Perception 3: Proximity, Uniform Connectedness, and Good Continuation. The reason that what you’re reading right now makes sense to you, other than the fact that you are familiar with the written English language, is due largely to the fact that I’m employing—and you perceive—three important Gestalt Principles.
The structure of this paragraph is dependent on its adherence to and consistency with the principles of proximity, uniform connectedness, and good continuation. Without these three factors I would be unable to clearly communicate my thoughts to you through this medium (written/typed words) and what you are seeing would bear little or no relationship to language. The paragraph is not an arbitrary construct nor was it an optional invention.
It is required for written communication; else communicative writing would be relegated to individual words or unwieldy, enormous chunks of copy. For example, the image below shows the first paragraph of this article as it might appear without any reference to the aforementioned Gestalt Principles: Proximity. Gestalt Principles of Perception 2: Similarity. As Gestalt principles go, the principle of similarity would seem to be one of the simplest to grasp. It states things that are similar are perceived to be more related than things that are dissimilar. Simple enough, right? As a web designer, however, you’ll need to be familiar with all of the ways that elements can be similar so that you can in any given situation choose the right one to exploit. This is because the different modes of similarity are not created equal.
Similarity is a powerful mechanism for communication. Fundamentals There are all sorts of ways that elements can be perceived as being similar, and thus, related. Do the elements shown above seem related to one another or not? As there are very few consistencies among the elements above, it is unlikely that anyone would perceive any significant similarity.
Let’s make it a bit easier to perceive some similarity: Which elements above seem related? Let’s change things a bit and see how our perception is led. Links Page content.