When a viewer looks at one of our designs, what do they feel, do they like it, how can we know how our work is being perceived? In graphic design, psychology will always play a very important role. Because we seek to attract attention, to make an impact, to communicate a message and to make sure that it is perceived correctly by our viewer. This is why graphic design is not only about emotions, but also about perception. Knowing the Gestalt Theory and its principles will help us to attract the attention of our viewers, to stimulate our creativity and to improve the communication of our designs.
In graphic design, we seek to visually impact our viewer. We need to know how human perception works in order to reach that goal or get as close to it as possible. This is where the Gestalt Theory comes into play.
With this article, I want to show you how useful it is to understand how this theory works and the meaning it gives to visual stimuli. Let’s see it!
What is Gestalt Theory?
Gestalt theory, or Gestalt psychology, was a movement that began in the 1920s in Berlin, Germany, with the contribution of researchers Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka. Gestalt is a German word meaning pattern, figure, outline or form. This movement sought to make sense of how our minds perceive things as a whole, rather than individually.
These researchers studied how our mind shapes, by means of certain laws or principles, the elements that come to it through memory and the different sensory channels. They showed that our brains will always try to simplify and organise complex images, because they are highly trained to understand the world around us.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
Immanuel Kant
For Gestalt, human beings organise their perceptions as wholes, either as form or configuration. But not as a simple sum of its parts. Therefore, what is perceived can go from being a set of spots to become, depending on the case, objects, people or scenes.
It is a discipline that studies the process by which our brain orders and gives meaning, or form, to the images it receives from the world around it. As well as what has seemed relevant to it.
How does Gestalt Theory relate to graphic design?
The main idea put forward by Gestalt Theory is that when we perceive the world, despite the fact that there are different signals impacting us at the same time, our mind summarises the environment by means of shapes or groups of elements to organise them. It basically simplifies it. Stay with this concept.
Therefore, Gestalt Theory is also applicable to graphic design or design in all its variants. For a design to work well it must take into account not only the individual visual elements, but also how the whole design is perceived.
Over time, proponents of the Gestalt movement developed a set of basic principles of visual perception, also called gestalt principles or gestalt laws. A tool that has been of great use to graphic designers, architects, artists, etc. ever since.
Key ideas of Gestalt Theory
Before going deeper into the Gestalt principles, we need to know the 4 key ideas on which they were based. Let’s take a quick look at them.
1. Appearance (our mind identifies the whole before the parts)
The idea of appearance arises when an object is perceived and we give it an interpretation based on previous information we already know. It is often used in logo design.
It is the process of forming complex patterns from simple shapes. When we visualise an object, we first seek to identify its outline and compare it with shapes and objects we have stored in our memory to find a match and thus determine what we are seeing. It is only after we recognise the whole that we begin to identify the parts that make it up.
In the example below, our mind will visualise a dog before the individual shapes, because it is a silhouette we already know.
2. Reification (our mind fills in the gaps)
People can recognise objects even when they are missing parts or are incomplete. Our brain matches what we see with familiar patterns we already know and have stored in our memory to fill in the gaps.
Reification suggests that we do not need to present the whole image or outline for viewers to understand the message. We can omit parts of the outline as long as we provide enough information to allow a suggestion to the image that is close enough to understand.
Here is another example. In each of these three figures, our mind constructs new shapes in negative space from those we perceive visually. In the first example we would perceive a circle, in the second a triangle and in the third a square.
3. Multistability (our mind avoids uncertainty)
The idea of multistability is based on the fact that we often interpret ambiguous objects in more than one way. Our brains go back and forth in search of a recognisable image. Multistability is the tendency we have to jump between alternative interpretations.
A well-known example to demonstrate this key idea is the famous illustration by the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin. We are all familiar with it. The viewer is presented with two shapes: two faces or a vase. You will probably spend some time looking at it trying to analyse which is the correct shape (even if both are correct).
4. Invariance (our mind recognises similarities and differences).
Our brain is able to perceive objects from different perspectives despite their different appearances. Invariance is a property of perception that suggests that simple objects are recognised independently of their rotation, translation and scale.
In this example we can perceive that it is exactly the same shape, even though the object has been rotated, scaled or translated.
Imagine how absurd it would be if you could only recognise people if they were looking at you from the front, and stop recognising them if they were looking at you from the side. Even if their appearance “changes” because of a different perspective, we are still able to recognise the object, or in this case, the subject.
The Laws of Gestalt in visual perception and graphic design
Now that we know the 4 key or fundamental ideas from which the members of Gestalt Theory started to develop the laws or principles, we can learn how they relate to graphic design.
As I mentioned earlier, these principles attempt to explain how and when our minds perceive different visual components as part of a group. If you want to get into design, you need to know these principles, because they will help you to create structured and coherent work, which catches the viewer’s attention.
Let’s take a look at what these principles are, along with examples of how some companies have successfully applied them.
1. Principle of Similarity or Likeness
The principle of similarity is used to link elements that may or may not be close to each other. If we find similarities between their elements, we will tend to see them as part of a group. Furthermore, if a design is made up of similar objects, the viewer will perceive the whole as balanced and coherent. The greater the similarity between the objects, the more coherence the work as a whole will convey.
The similarity between the different elements can be in shape, colour, size or texture.
Thanks to this principle of similarity, we can generate emphasis on one element, breaking the pattern of similarity within the elements that make up the group. These cases where an object stands out from the rest and does not match the similarity, is called Anomaly.
In the example, the circles and squares are equidistant from each other, with exactly the same size. However, our mind goes on to group them by colour, and we distinguish two sets, the turquoise ones on the one hand and the black ones on the other. This is due to the similarity of the colours.
An example of this principle can be seen in the Sun Microsystems logo. It is made up of the same elements, but by rotating some of them, the pattern is broken, generating emphasis on some groupings of them, reflecting the name of the brand that it represents.
2. Principle of Continuity
The eye can visually create the continuity of a line. This principle is based on the idea that the human eye will always follow the natural, smoother, less forced and more coherent visual path.
For example, in the illustrations you can see below, our eye will want to follow the straight or curved line, from one end to the other. Even if the lines change colour in the middle of their path. Our mind tends to group the elements by the continuity that our eye perceives.
The principle of Continuity can be very useful, for example, when pointing to a design element or when we need to guide the viewer’s gaze.
A clear example of this principle is the Coca Cola logo, which makes literal use of this principle. The first “C” in the logo draws our eyes towards the next “C”. And this, in turn, creates a line that flows to the final “A”. With two simple strokes, we see everything at a glance in the desired direction. The Subway arrows also invite us to this smoother, more fluid visual path.
3. Principle of Closure
When a figure that is not closed or bounded by lines, our mind tends to convey a sense of closure or complete form.
According to Gestalt theory, closed forms are perceived as more stable forms. We tend to close or complete open forms, seeking to give them more stability. Therefore, we tend to group individual forms as part of a group, seeking to compose a closed and complete form.
The principle of closure is a technique often used in graphic design, especially in logo design. When we perceive an element as incomplete, our brain works to fill in the missing information.
Examples of logos using this closing principle could be the WWF logo, the Carrefour logo, the UEFA Champions League logo or the Adobe logo.
4. Principle of Proximity
The proximity principle theorises how we tend to group together shapes or visual elements that are close to each other. To do this, these objects must share some of the following characteristics in common: shape, colour, size or texture.
On the other hand, by increasing the space between elements, we can achieve a sense of separation, even if the elements have characteristics in common.
In this example, we see that the only difference between the image on the left and the image on the right is the proximity of the lines. However, our mind interprets the image on the right as 4 different groups of elements.
The Unilever logo is a good example of how to apply the proximity principle to a design. Thanks to the proximity of the elements, we can distinguish the letter “U”.
5. Principle of Figure and Ground
The Figure and ground principle is quite similar to the principle of closure, because it also takes advantage of the way the brain processes the negative space around it. This principle describes the tendency of the human eye to see an object separately from its surroundings.
Our mind is not able to interpret the same element as both figure and background at the same time. It will distinguish between the objects it considers to be in the foreground of an image (the figure or focal point) and the background (the area in which the figures rest). Things get interesting when the foreground and background actually contain two different simultaneous images, such as these:
One artist we could undoubtedly highlight is M. C. Escher. He was a master at playing with this and so many other Gestalt principles.
To give an example of this principle in real brands, FedEx immediately comes to mind. The “E” and the “x” in its logo generate an arrow in the negative space between them. An arrow that conveys movement, direction or shipping. On the other hand, the logo of My Fonts makes use of this principle of figure and ground with the “My” whose emptiness reminds us of a hand. A hand that conveys the artisan craftsmanship with which the typographies are made. Very appropriate for the purpose of the site; “find the font that fits you”.
6. Principle of Symmetry and Order
This principle, also known as prägnanz (meaning good form or figure), holds that elements that have symmetry and order are also perceived as part of the same group.
Our brain tends to complete a symmetrical image and perceive it as a harmonious and complete figure. This is because symmetry evokes a sense of balance and harmony that our brain finds attractive and easy to process.
Here are some examples of logos that have made use of this principle to convey this harmony. Such as the Chanel logo, the Olympic logo or the MacDonald’s logo.
Furthermore, this principle establishes that our mind tends to always analyse in the simplest way, organising the elements in symmetrical, regular and stable figures. Our mind, therefore, has a natural tendency to perceive symmetrical objects as complete and balanced shapes, even if in reality they are incomplete or asymmetrical.
Let’s look at another example: how do we perceive the figure on the left: do you see one complex shape or perhaps three simple shapes overlapping?
Our mind will always interpret the image on the left as a triangle, a circle and a rectangle, even if it has incomplete contours, because they are simpler shapes than the general image and composed of geometric shapes stored in our memory.
7. Principle of Common Fate
In recent years, this principle of common fate is also referred to as the common direction principle. This last law theorises that objects and elements that appear to build a pattern or flow in the same direction are once again perceived as part of a group.
As an example of a brand that makes use of this principle of common direction, we could mention IBM. With its horizontal lines that vary in length, the initials of this famous technological brand are legible.
Conclusion.
Gestalt theory has revolutionised visual perception. It demonstrates that the human brain processes information as a coherent and meaningful whole, influencing disciplines such as psychology, art and design. Studying it allows us to create harmonious and effective visual compositions. Gestalt theory is the basis for some of the principles of graphic design.
Now that you know them better, don’t forget to take them into account every time you make a design and thus, better control how it impacts on visual perception. Because Gestalt Theory resides in the mind, not in the eyes.
Hi, I’m Roberto Vidiella.
I am the founder and Creative Director of VIDI. I am passionate about graphic design, and through this blog, I try to deepen my knowledge and share what I have learned during my career. If you leave me a comment, you help me to keep learning and improving, and I’m really excited about it!