Let’s talk about Gestalt’s principles

gestalt's principles
gestalt's principles

If you’re new in the world of graphic design, you might not know very much about Gestalt’s principles and their major importance. Based on certain psychology laws that date back in the ’20s, these principles explain how humans perceive chaotic stimuli around them and how they group similar elements for better understanding. Basically, as humans, we constantly search a sense of unity in everything we see. We perceive images as a whole, sometimes forgetting that they are made of lots of different elements. This characteristic of ours simplifies complex images and creates recognisable patterns that help us better understand things that surround us.

Why are Gestalt’s principles so important for graphic designers?

A really good graphic designer should bear in mind that psychology plays a crucial role when it comes to visual perception. In order to really understand how people perceive their work, graphic designers should be aware of how the human mind works. If they make use of these principles, they will be able to:

  • combine different elements that can turn out to be effective in various given situations;
  • put emphasis on certain ideas, leading to awareness, action and behavioural change;
  • design certain products that serve a particular need.

With no further ado, let’s talk about some of those principles!

Principle 1: similarity

According to this principle, things that are similar appear to be grouped together.

Principle 2: proximity

Based on this, things that are closer to each other tend to appear more related than things that are placed appart.

Principle 3: continuity

The continuity principles teaches us that elements disposed in a straight or curved line are smoothly connecting between them.

Principle 4: focus point

As you probably expected, this principle teaches us that the element that stands out in a design will be the first to capture the viewer’s attention.

Principle 5: closure

Last, but not least, let’s talk about closure. According to this principle, the human mind succeeds to perceive forms and figures in their final form. Even though they are incomplete, we are able to intuit the missing parts and to mentally complete the form.

If you want to find out more about Gestalt’s principle, check out this short video. And now that you have read this, you might want to expand your creativity. Go on WhatFontIs.com and check out some of our most creative fonts. You’ll surely love them!

Technical lead at WhatFontIs since 2010 with a (healthy?) obsession for fonts.