Gestalt principles in design

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Designing graphic elements can often be associated with "drawing pretty things", this is a huge mistake and disregard for many psychological aspects in which a brand presents itself to recipients. Effective visual identification of a brand is crucial for its recognition and reception by customers. Good graphic design mainly consists of creating useful, intuitive and easy-to-learn elements, if we manage to achieve this, only then can we start thinking about the purely aesthetic aspect. There are dozens, if not hundreds of timeless rules and recommendations that are worth following in this area. One of the main sets of such rules are the Gestalt principles , which I will look at today.

Contents
The Principle of Proximity
Principle of similarity
The Principle of Experience
Principle of symmetry
Figure/Background Principle
Principle of continuity
The principle of common fate
Closure principle
The principle of apparent motion
Gestalt principles

The word "Gestalt" comes from German and means "figure", "form", so the very term Gestalt psychology means psychology of figure , which can also be understood as the form of perception of objects/elements by a human. Research on this psychology was conducted at the beginning of the 20th century, and its result was the discovery that the human mind tends to perceive the set/general , instead of individual elements. Illustratively - when entering a shop full of people, first we see a crowd, a collection of individuals, only later comes the interpretation of people as individual characters.

So what are Gestalt principles in relation to graphic design? They are a set of innate human perceptual mechanisms that are worth adapting to so that everything we design is as easy as possible for recipients to absorb.

The Principle of Proximity
The Principle of Proximity

Elements that are close together are treated as related to each other . This Gestalt principle causes us not to perceive elements placed next to each other as independent objects, but as a group. The closest example of the application nepal telemarketing data of this principle is the navigation area on most websites (menu) - its elements are placed close together and we automatically perceive it as a whole set of navigation buttons, not individual, independent links.

Principle of similarity
Principle of similarity

Visually similar objects are treated as a group, elements that look different are already outside the group, even if they are close to each other . Remember, however, that the difference of one element from the rest can be perceived as negatively or positively - this element can be an "unwanted advertisement" when browsing offers on a website, but it can also be a highlighted advertisement, so special attention should be paid to ensuring that this element has the right resonance for the subconscious of recipients (e.g. user-friendly color)

The Principle of Experience
The Principle of Experience

Otherwise known as the habit principle. It says that we, as humans, learn, remember and over time automatically associate certain elements with a specific interaction. This Gestalt principle may seem slightly repetitive, but it helps save a lot of time when designing. This principle aims to encourage designers to use proven functionalities instead of designing something new, especially if current solutions fully implement their function . A good example would be the "hamburger" menu in mobile applications - we know perfectly well that touching these three horizontal lines will bring up a certain menu and designing, for example, a pentagon shape instead of such a "hamburger" will not make it easier to use the application in any way. Of course, this does not mean that it is not worth designing visual elements from scratch, it is definitely worth experimenting with, but great attention should be paid to ensuring that the user quickly and pleasantly learns to use them, and does not have to do it every time they want to use our application/website.

Principle of symmetry
Principle of symmetry

Our brain, consciously or not, likes order and symmetry. If something is symmetrically arranged, it means that it is consciously arranged. If it is consciously arranged, it means that someone has put effort into it. If it is clear that someone has devoted a lot of attention to making it more pleasant and easier for me (as a recipient) to use, for example, a website, I subconsciously appreciate it and the site gains value for me . Unorganized, chaotically arranged elements cause the recipient's brain to work at a higher speed, which is why browsing through such distributed content is simply tiring.

Figure/Background Principle
Figure/Background Principle

Today, the most popular reflection of this principle is the “negative space” trend . We tend to separate visible objects from their background and perceive them as separate elements. Today, this principle is often used in logos, because apart from the fact that it gives an interesting design, the recipient of such a logo will first notice one part of it, and after a while only the part that was hidden in the background - at this moment the recipient's subconscious “triumphs” and feels that they have just discovered something, thanks to which they immediately have positive associations with this brand. An interesting example of such a logo is the F1 logo or the FedEx company.

Principle of continuity
Principle of continuity

Elements that, through their arrangement, create a certain shape or line, are perceived as a whole. This principle can help us direct the recipient's attention in the direction we want , for example the often encountered "Just 3 simple steps to...", which guides us by hand through the registration process on the site.