Gestalt Theory was proposed in the early 1900's to try to understand how perception works, and how people react to certain stimuli automatically. In contrast to the atomistic approaches to these topics at that time, the Gestalt Theorists proposed that wholes are qualitatively different than parts. This is generally expressed as: "the whole is greater than the sum of parts". The classic example is of a melody to a song. The melody is more than just each individual note. In fact, the melody becomes its own separate unit -- a melody -- that is more than just individual notes strung together. One can change the key (thus the information value of the notes), yet retain the melody.
The Gestalt Theorists proposed several principles for how the mind is able to organize parts into wholes. The first principle is:
Pragnanz
Pragnanz is the idea the simplest structure is the most psychologically stable, the most resistant to change. Generally messages can take many form that vary in complexity, features, detail, and so on. This principle tells us that reducing a message to its essential amount will make the message more psychologically powerful. There is quite a bit of research on the negative effects of irrelevant information, irrelevant detail, attention seduction, and the activation of wrong prior knowledge resulting from messages that are not reduced to their essential form (see the Handbook of Multimedia Learning for examples). Logos use this principle as do cartoons.
Similarity and Anomaly
Things that look the same get grouped together (similarity). Something that looks different from the things around it stands out (anomaly). There is a strong case for the use of consistency in design: for example, that all headers of a certain type are given equal weight by being design of equal size, color, and in the same font face. This eases the burden on processing since we can build up expectations of what something is like thus solidifying our mental model.
Continuation
The eye natural flows in the direction of a vector >. Some scientists have speculated that pointing was the first form of communication. Presently, arrows are often used to indicate direction. <- -> <-> Vectors (angles) generally show movement.
Closure
Closure is the idea that the brain is able to process a whole even if a certain amount of information has been omitted. For example, A boy stnds next to is mom. In fact, leaving out a certain amount of information is one way to stimulate the brain (it gets attention and enhances depth of processing). This is generally called the "generative principle".
Proximity
Proximity is the idea that objects that are within close physical proximity become grouped together (a unit rather than individual parts). For example, a navigation menu is a menu and not just a list of individual words. Of course, objects that are not in close proximity are considered separate.
One way to enhance proximity is through use of "common ground" (another Gestalt principle). Information is grouped if the objects are encased within another object. For example, is you put a group of words inside of a circle or a square, people will assume that those words are a unit.
Figure/Ground
Figure/ground is the idea that some information becomes visually dominant while other information becomes part of the background. Use this principle to highlight key information by making it higher in contrast, bigger, bolder, or somehow different from the information around it.
For more information about Gestalt principles in relation to design, see:
The Gestalt Principles
Scholarpedia
Gestalt Principles Applied in Design
4 comments:
I think this is true saying that the most effective messages are the messages that are filled with limited information. I know it is extremely relevant as a student because I pay attention to the things that are to the point. Also when things are said briefly it makes you think harder about what is being said. It is better to say things that are correct and are to the point than to elaborate on something that has false information in it.
Sad to see that you didn't get to finish this post. However, I really enjoyed learning about the Gestalt Principles. I think that my favorite one that we learned is the principle of similarity. I never consciously noticed that when viewing similar objects, I grouped them together. This is very helpful in understanding how people view a document overall. It is also helpful because it guides the organization of a document. I believe that often breaking the law of similarity is important because it creates something that really stands out.
I found it extremely informative when learning about the Gestalt Principles of Organization. I agree that wholes are qualitatively different than parts. From an advertisement point-of-view, this also holds true. When viewing an advertisement, each component of the advertisement contributes to the overall message. Each little bit of information contributes to the overall message.
I agree with the pragnanz principle, which states that simplicity is more beneficial and makes the message more powerful. It allows the message to become very directive and informative without causing confusion.
I also found the principles on similarity and anomaly to be very informative. This allows advertisers to pair different pieces together for a message to stand out, and allow the message that they are trying to present to be very direct. Overall, all the Gestalt Principles allowed to me put into perspective different techniques that are used to efficiently grab the attention of individuals, especially from an advertisement aspect.
I find it interesting to see how connected information design is with psychology. I was first introduced to the Gestalt principles in my advanced psychology class in high school and find them very interesting and true. Another Gestalt principle is The Law of Continuation is very helpful in message design because you can use it either to attract people’s attention and eyes somewhere or to break the actual idea of continuation to grab someone’s attention. I found all of Gestalt’s principles helpful to keep in mind when designing our messages for our information campaigns for Turtle Buddy.
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