GESTALT PRINCIPLES

ETYMOLOGY: 1920S: FROM GERMAN “GESTALT”, LITERALLY ‘FORM, SHAPE’.

GESTALT IS A TERM USED TO DESCRIBE FEATURES OF HOLISM.
THE HUMAN BRAIN EXCELS AT FILLING IN THE GAPS IN IMAGES AND ASSEMBLING A WHOLE THAT IS BIGGER THAN
THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. OUR BRAINS ARE WIRED TO RECOGNIZE STRUCTURE AND PATTERNS IN ORDER TO HELP US
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AROUND US. ONE OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL UNDERLYING NOTIONS
UNDERPINNING THE GESTALT PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL PERCEPTION IS THIS PRINCIPLE.

GESTALT PRINCIPLES

SIMILARITY
IT'S NATURAL FOR PEOPLE TO GROUP SIMILAR THINGS TOGETHER. SIMILAR ITEMS ARE VISUALLY GROUPED IN
GESTALT, REGARDLESS OF THEIR PROXIMITY TO ONE ANOTHER. COLOR, SHAPE, AND SIZE CAN ALL BE USED TO
CATEGORIZE THEM. SIMILARITY CAN BE UTILIZED TO CONNECT PARTS IN A DESIGN THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY NEAR
TO EACH OTHER.

ANOMALY
WHEN AN ELEMENT IS HIGHLIGHTED BECAUSE IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS, BREAKING THE PATTERN OF
SIMILARITY

CONTINUATION
WHEN OBSERVING LINES, THE LAW OF CONTINUITY STATES THAT THE HUMAN EYE WILL TAKE THE SMOOTHEST
PATH POSSIBLE, REGARDLESS OF HOW THE LINES WERE DRAWN. WHEN THE INTENTION IS TO LEAD A VISITOR'S EYE
IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION, THIS CONTINUATION CAN BE A USEFUL TOOL.. BECAUSE THE EYE NATURALLY FOLLOWS A
LINE, GROUPING ELEMENTS IN A LINE WILL AUTOMATICALLY LEAD THE EYE FROM ONE TO THE NEXT.

CLOSURE
ONE OF THE COOLEST GESTALT IDEAS IS CLOSURE, WHICH I MENTIONED AT THE START OF THIS ARTICLE. IT'S THE
CONCEPT THAT YOUR BRAIN WILL FILL IN THE BLANKS IN A DESIGN OR IMAGE TO MAKE IT COMPLETE.
THE IDEA OF CLOSURE, IN ITS MOST BASIC FORM, PERMITS YOUR EYE TO FOLLOW A DOTTED LINE TO ITS
CONCLUSION.

PROXIMITY
THE TERM "PROXIMITY" DESCRIBES HOW CLOSE TWO ELEMENTS ARE TO ONE ANOTHER. ALTHOUGH OVERLAPPING
SUBJECTS HAVE THE STRONGEST PROXIMITY CORRELATIONS, JUST COLLECTING THINGS INTO A SINGLE REGION CAN
ALSO HAVE A STRONG PROXIMITY EFFECT. IN GENERAL, THE GREATER PORTION OF AN IMAGE IS SEEN AS THE
GROUND, WHILE THE SMALLER AREA IS INTERPRETED AS THE FIGURE.

FIGURE/GROUND
IN THE SAME MANNER THAT THE CLOSURE PRINCIPLE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE WAY THE BRAIN PROCESSES
NEGATIVE SPACE, THE FIGURE/GROUND PRINCIPLE DOES AS WELL. YOUR BRAIN CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN WHAT IT PERCEIVES TO BE IN THE FOREGROUND OF AN IMAGE (THE FIGURE, OR FOCAL POINT) AND
WHAT IT CONSIDERS TO BE IN THE BACKGROUND (THE BACKDROP) (THE AREA ON WHICH THE FIGURES REST). IN
GENERAL, THE GREATER PORTION OF AN IMAGE IS SEEN AS THE GROUND, WHILE THE SMALLER AREA IS
INTERPRETED AS THE FIGURE.
SIMILARITY

ANOMALY

TAJ MAHAL, INDIA

USTAD AHMAD LAHOURI

HEYDAR ALIYEV CENTER, AZERBAIJAN

ZAHA HADID
CONTINUATION

CLOSURE

MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH, UNITED STATES

TADAO ANDO

THE CHURCH OF THE LIGHT, JAPAN

TADAO ANDO
PROXIMITY

FIGURE/GROUND

STONEHENGE, UNITED KINGDOM

GRANDE ARCHE DE LA DEFENSE, FRANCE

JOHAN OTTO VON SPRECKELSEN, PAUL ANDREU, ERIK REITZEL, PETER RICE
https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/gestalt-principles-of-design

Chapman, C. (2018, March 27). Exploring the gestalt principles of design. Toptal Design Blog. Retrieved
January 11, 2022, from https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/gestalt-principles-of-design