Gestalt principles of form perception by Mads Soegaard Gestalt psychology attempts to understand psychological phenomena by viewing them as organised and structured wholes rather than the sum of their constituent parts. Thus, Gestalt psychology dissociates itself from the more 'elementistic'/reductionistic/decompositional approaches to psychology like structuralism (with its tendency to analyse mental processes into elementary sensations) and it accentuates concepts like emergent properties, holism, and context. In the 30s and 40s Gestalt psychology was applied to visual perception, most notably by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Khler, and Kurt Koffka who founded the so-called gestalt approaches to form perception. Law of proximity Figure 1.A: A real-world example of the law of proximity from MTV Music Awards 2002 Figure 1.B.: An example of the use of the law of proximity in interface design - Kazaa Media Desktop Figure 1.C.: A typical "text-book way" of exemplifying the law of proximity Law of similarity Law of Prgnanz (figure-ground) Law of symmetry
Composition and Design Principles ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everybody immediately responds to subject matter in art. A picture of a butterfly and a picture of a snake do not get the same response. In addition to subject matter*, the formal aspects of visual composition are like the grammar of a language. In writing, a story is written with words - subject matter. Like good literature and good poetry is more than words and subject matter, art is more than pictures. The organization, the sentence structure, the style, and so on can make or break a good story. The use of design principles applied to the visual elements is like visual grammar. TEACHING TIP Art vocabulary can be taught along with every project. *Glossary: "Subject matter" is similar to "topic" or "content" when teaching art. Six Visual Elements (art elements) top of page We think of the elements as the basic visual material with which to make art. Variety - You create variety when elements are changed.
ARTSEDGE: Formal Visual Analysis: The Elements & Principles of Composition Overview In any work of art, all of these elements and principles will be present, but some will be more obvious than others. When engaging in formal analysis, students should select the elements they feel are most strongly represented in the piece they are analyzing. A good place to start formal analysis is to look at a work of art and take note of how your eye moves around the object. Formal analysis is an important technique for organizing visual information. The Elements The elements of formal analysis are building blocks that can be combined to create a larger structure. Line is the most basic building block of formal analysis. Value is the degree of light and dark in a design. Shapes are created when lines are combined to form a square, triangle, or circle. Forms are three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth. Space is the area between and around objects. Color differentiates and defines lines, shapes, forms, and space. The Principles
Word recognition The article "The Science of Word Recognition" says that "evidence from the last 20 years of work in cognitive psychology indicates that we use the letters within a word to recognize a word". Over time, other theories have been put forth proposing the mechanisms by which words are recognized in isolation, yet with both speed and accuracy.[2] These theories focus more on the significance of individual letters and letter-shape recognition (ex. serial letter recognition and parallel letter recognition). Other factors such as saccadic eye movements and the linear relationship between letters also affect the way we recognize words.[3] Word recognition is a manner of reading based upon the immediate perception of what word a familiar grouping of letters represents. This process exists in opposition to phonetics and word analysis, as a different method of recognizing and verbalizing visual language (i.e. reading).[7] Word recognition functions primarily on automaticity. Theories[edit]
10 Heuristics for User Interface Design Visibility of system status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. (Read full article on visibility of system status.) Match between system and the real world The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. (Read full article on the match between the system and the real world.) User control and freedom Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Consistency and standards Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Error prevention Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. (Read full article on preventing user errors.) Recognition rather than recall Help and documentation
Clean Up Your Mess - A Guide to Visual Design for Everyone Composition and Design Principles ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everybody immediately responds to subject matter in art. A picture of a butterfly and a picture of a snake do not get the same response. In addition to subject matter*, the formal aspects of visual composition are like the grammar of a language. The use of design principles applied to the visual elements is like visual grammar. TEACHING TIP Art vocabulary can be taught along with every project. *Glossary: "Subject matter" is similar to "topic" or "content" when teaching art. Six Visual Elements (art elements) top of page We think of the elements as the basic visual material with which to make art. Some Design Principles or design rules (some creative artists purposely break rules) top of page This list is an example list. Balance is the consideration of visual weight and importance. Variety - You create variety when elements are changed. Motion. Sometimes it has to do with orientation. Depth.
Gestalt principles of form perception | The Glossary of Human Computer Interaction Gestalt psychology attempts to understand psychological phenomena by viewing them as organised and structured wholes rather than the sum of their constituent parts. Thus, Gestalt psychology dissociates itself from the more 'elementistic'/reductionistic/decompositional approaches to psychology like structuralism (with its tendency to analyse mental processes into elementary sensations) and it accentuates concepts like emergent properties, holism, and context. In the 30s and 40s Gestalt psychology was applied to visual perception, most notably by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka who founded the so-called gestalt approaches to form perception. Their aim was to investigate the global and holistic processes involved in perceiving structure in the environment (e.g. Law of proximity Figure 1.A: A real-world example of the law of proximity from MTV Music Awards 2002 Law of similarity Law of Prägnanz (figure-ground) Law of symmetry Figure 4.A.: CSC Finland's logo. Law of closure
Color Theory Tutorial by Worqx Why study color theory? If you are involved in the creation or design of visual documents, an understanding of color will help when incorporating it into your own designs. Choices regarding color often seem rather mystical, as many seem to base decisions on nothing other than "it looks right." Although often told I had an eye for color, the reason why some colors worked together while others did not always intrigued me and I found the study of color theory fascinating. While attending the University of Minnesota I enrolled in almost every course I could from different departments: graphic design, interior design, and fine arts. Communicating Color What is red? HTML Red Pantone® Red Pantone® Warm Red TRUEMATCH® 6-a Color Application With respect to the arts, color was part of the realistic, visual representation of form, but one group of painters abandoned the traditional practices regarding color in painting. The next several pages of this site offer a tutorial regarding color theory.
Visual Design Basics Visual design focuses on the aesthetics of a site and its related materials by strategically implementing images, colors, fonts, and other elements. A successful visual design does not take away from the content on the page or function. Instead, it enhances it by engaging users and helping to build trust and interest in the brand. Basic Elements of Visual Design The basic elements that combine to create visual designs include the following: Lines connect two points and can be used to help define shapes, make divisions, and create textures. Principles for Creating a Visual Design A successful visual design applies the following principles to elements noted above and effectively brings them together in a way that makes sense. Unity has to do with all elements on a page visually or conceptually appearing to belong together. Example of Pulling it all together Additional Information
Gestalt Principles: Visual Perception And Design Gestalt principles Gestalt principles, or gestalt laws, are rules of the organization of perceptual scenes. When we look at the world, we usually perceive complex scenes composed of many groups of objects on some background, with the objects themselves consisting of parts, which may be composed of smaller parts, etc. How do we accomplish such a remarkable perceptual achievement, given that the visual input is, in a sense, just a spatial distribution of variously colored individual points? The beginnings and the direction of an answer were provided by a group of researchers early in the twentieth century, known as Gestalt psychologists. Figure-ground articulation Figure 1: Figure-ground articulation. If the visual field is homogeneous throughout, a situation labeled as Ganzfeld (German for 'whole field'), it has no consistent internal organization. In such cases the visual field is perceived as articulated into two components, the figure (patch) on the ground (surround). Proximity principle Closure principle