7 Gestalt principles of visual perception and their importance in design.
Gestalt principles describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns and simplify complex images when we perceive objects. These principles can be applied to anything from a website to a well-designed logo.
Laws of human perception.
Psychology plays the powerful role in visual perception. Gestalt is a psychological concept that basically explains how we interpret reality. Gestalt Principles describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns, and simplify complex images when we perceive objects.
When it comes to our interpretation of visual stimuli, we’re always looking for the simplest possible way to understand a thing.
You can try to see the more complex arrangement, but it takes more effort — your eyes just want to return to the simpler pattern. Gestalt Principles detail how our brains create structure by default.
7 Gestalt Principles
1. Principle of closure
The Gestalt principle of closure is when we see a complex arrangement, we look for a single, recognizable pattern. Like the example logo below, you notice chunks of the outline are missing, but your brain has no problem figuring out what the logo is by filling in the missing sections to see the whole picture.
2. The figure or ground principle
The figure or ground principle is very similar to the closure principle in the sense that the figure/ground principle takes advantage of the way the brain perceives negative space. Our brains instinctively distinguish between objects in the foreground and objects in the background.
3. Principle of proximity
The principle of proximity refers to how close the elements are to each other. The things that are close together appear to be more related than things that are spaced farther apart.
4. Principle of common region
The principle of common region is highly related to proximity. It states that when objects are located within the same closed region, we perceive them as being grouped together.
5.Principle of similarity
The Gestalt principle of similarity states that when things appear to be similar to each other, we group them together. And we also tend to think they have the same function.
6. Principle of continuity
The Gestalt Principle of Continuity states that we are more likely to see continuous and smooth flowing lines rather than broken or jagged ones. This is because once our eyes begin to follow something, they will continue to travel in that direction until it encounters another item or object.
7. Principle of symmetry
Symmetrical elements are perceived as part of the same group. Have you ever looked at figures that look like mirror reflections of each other? This relationship helps us perceive these elements as a single figure.
When you know how our brain works, you can use the principles to organize content on apps and websites so it’s visually pleasing and easy to understand for the user.
This short video perfectly explains what are the Gestalt principles in Psychology.
