Tareas

Gestalt Principles of Perception:
1 – Figure Ground Relationships
December 9, 2008
Almost everything that makes graphic design work can be found in a set of laws and principles collectively known as the Gestalt principles of perception. There is no more powerful tool at a designer’s disposal than a comprehensive grasp of these principles. By the same token, those who don’t have a good grasp ofthem are lost when faced with design projects and often go “fishing” on design gallery sites, being relegated to cliché motifs and layouts. But clients deserve better than our vague understanding. If you haven’t already, resolve to learn the Gestalt principles of perception.
Why learn this stuff? At the risk of sounding like a late night TV commercial, Gestalt principles of perception help totake the guesswork out of design. For instance, once the page content is defined and the communicative objectives are known, Gestalt principles make clear how to distribute elements on the page, when and why to use line delineation, background shading, a gradient, or when and why to group things in an enclosure (or not). Once you understand Gestalt principles, design becomes much simpler and yourcreative ideas will enjoy a far more effective articulation.
The name makes them sound complicated, but Gestalt principles are not so difficult to get your head around. In fact, each of them can be explained in one short sentence, but often they’re defined in ways that makes most peoples’ eyes glaze over. Well, I want to present them for you here in terms that directly relate to what Web designersdo, supported by examples from the Web. This article is the first in a series concerned with better explaining these principles. Each will deal with one of them.
First, here are simple definitions for the Gestalt principles of perception:
Figure Ground Relationship
Elements are perceived as either figures (distinct elements of focus) or ground (the background or landscape on which the figuresrest).
Law of Prägnanz
Humans tend to interpret ambiguous or complex images as simple and complete.
Uniform Connectedness
Elements that share uniform visual characteristics are perceived as being more related than elements with disparate visual characteristics.
Good Continuation
Elements arranged on a line or curve are perceived to be more related than elements not on the line or curve.Closure
When looking at a complex arrangement of individual elements, humans tend to first look for a single, recognizable pattern.
Common Fate
Humans tend to perceive elements moving in the same direction as being more related than elements that are stationary or that move in different directions.
Proximity
Things that are close to one another are perceived to be more related than things thatare spaced farther apart.
Similarity
Things that are similar are perceived to be more related than things that are dissimilar.
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You’ll notice that most of these principles seem to be variations of each other and are otherwise closely related. There’s good reason for this, as they all refer to relationships. Human perception is governed by relationships; how things are similar ordissimilar, how they contrast or blend with one another, and how arrangements of things suggest hierarchies and are affected by context.
For designers, that last sentence pretty much sums up much of what you deal with in your job so it might be nice to get a handle on this stuff. Let’s dive in and learn how to make Gestalt principles work for your designs.
Figure ground relationship
Elements areperceived as either figures (distinct elements of focus) or ground (the background or landscape on which the figures rest).
Why is it important?
I’m talking about this principle first because it is likely the most important. Determining the figure ground relationship is also the very first thing people do when they direct their gaze; new things come into view and our brains need a basis upon which to...