Gestalt Principles are principles/laws of human perception that describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns and simplify complex images when we perceive objects. Designers use the principles to organize content on websites and other interfaces so it is aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand.
In this video, designer and educator Mia Cinelli explains the importance of Gestalt principles in visual design and introduces a few principles, including figure/ground relationships, similarity, proximity and continuity.
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Gestalt Principles – a Background
“Gestalt” is German for “unified whole”. German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler created the Gestalt Principles in the 1920s.
They wanted to understand how people make sense of the confusing things they see and hear. They identified a set of laws that address the natural compulsion to find order in disorder. According to this, the mind “informs” what the eye sees by perceiving a series of individual elements as a whole.
Graphic designers quickly embraced Gestalt Principles, using them to create eye-catching designs with well-placed elements.
The whole is other than the sum of the parts. —Kurt Koffka
Gestaltism’s philosophy is not the same as Aristotle’s saying, “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” In Gestaltism, the whole is different and may even be completely unrelated to its parts.
Gestalt Principles
Gestalt Principles are an essential part of visual design. There are more than ten overlapping principles. Here’s a look at some of the more common ones.
1. Emergence
The principle of emergence is central to Gestalt thinking. We perceive the world without thinking too much about understanding every small thing around us. This ability to quickly make sense of our environment is essential for survival. Imagine if we spent hours analyzing our world to understand what was going on; wild animals would have devoured our ancestors in no time!
2. Closure (Reification)
We prefer complete shapes, so we automatically fill the gaps between elements to perceive a complete image. That’s how we can see the whole first. You can use closure creatively to gain users’ trust and admiration. Users will appreciate it when they see pleasing “wholes” made from cleverly placed elements like lines, dots, or shapes.
3. Common Region
We perceive elements that are in the same closed region as one group. To apply this principle to your interfaces, group related objects together in a closed area to show they are separate from other groups.
4. Continuity or Continuation
The continuity principle of Gestalt states that we group elements that seem to follow a continuous path in a particular direction. The human eye follows the paths, lines, and curves of a design and prefers to see a continuous flow of visual elements rather than separated objects. The human eye continues to follow the path even if an obstacle hides it or its flow is “broken” by interlinking or bisecting visual elements.
Mia Cinelli explains how the principle of continuity applies to typography and highlights a widespread mistake designers make.
5. Proximity
We group closer-together elements, separating them from those farther apart. When you group elements in your design, users will see it as one distinct entity on the screen.
In this video, Michal Malewicz, designer and co-founder of HYPE4.com, explains how we can use proximity to define hierarchies in our user interfaces.
6. Multistability
When images are ambiguous and present two or more meaningful interpretations, we experience the sensation of switching between them. We cannot see the multiple versions simultaneously. This switching sensation is called multistability.
7. Figure/Ground
We dislike uncertainty, so we look for solid, stable items. Unless an image is ambiguous—like Rubin’s Vase above—we see its foreground first. You can apply figure/ground in many ways, but chiefly to contrast elements: for example, light text (i.e., figure) from a dark background (i.e., ground). When you use figure/ground well, alongside other considerations such as color theory, you’ll help guide users in their tasks and lessen their cognitive load.
Figure/ground and multistability are sometimes confused to be the same. However, there is a slight difference. In most cases, background and foreground are stable, but in some cases, such as the optical illusion of Rubin’s vase, it can contribute to multistability.
8. Invariance
The Gestalt principle of invariance explains how we perceive basic shapes as identical despite various transformations. These transformations include rotation, movement, size alteration, stretching, different lighting conditions, and variations in parts. This principle is crucial for recognizing faces, for example. Thanks to invariance, we can recognize our friends and family members from afar or different angles or even when they make funny faces.
9. Pragnanz
Pragnanz describes the human tendency to simplify complexity. Our environment constantly bombards our senses with stimuli, while we have limited attention and processing capacity to handle all the complexity. Pragnanz helps us see order and regularity in a world of visual competition.
10. Similarity
When items, objects or elements share superficial characteristics, we perceive them as grouped. We can see the similarity principle in branding and design system guidelines.
11. Symmetry and Order
Humans tend to see visual elements as grouped when they are arranged symmetrically. The natural world is filled with symmetry (or near symmetry), and our brains tend to favor symmetrical forms. Grid systems that evenly divide the space help designers implement symmetry and order in user interfaces.
12. Common Fate
This principle refers to the human tendency to perceive visual elements moving in the same direction or in unison as grouped. Visuals need not be moving to convey motion. Cues such as arrows and the rotation angle can indicate the direction in which the elements are perceived to move.
Gestalt Principles are in the Mind, Not the Eye
The Gestalt Principles are vital in user experience (UX) design. When you design interfaces, users must be able to understand what they see—and find what they want—at a glance. Below are examples of the Gestalt principles from the IxDF landing page.
In your designs, you should never confuse or delay users. Instead, guide them to their options so they can identify with organizations/brands rapidly.
Learn More about the Gestalt Principles
Learn all the principles of Gestalt and how designers employ Gestalt psychology by enrolling in our online course Gestalt Psychology and Web Design: The Ultimate Guide.
Watch Michal Malewicz’s Master Class Beyond Interfaces: The UI Design Skills You Need to Know to learn more about how to design great user interfaces.
UX Misfit’s UI Design in Practice: Gestalt Principles provides several examples of how Gestalt principles are used in web and UI design.
For more on building relationships via Gestalt Principles, see Smashing Magazine’s article, Improve Your Designs With The Principles Of Closure And Figure-Ground.
See UsabilityHub’s Gestalt design principles for more examples.
See Usertesting.com’s blog, 7 Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception: Psychology for UX, for tips and examples.
Content strategist Jerry Cao’s piece on Gestalt Principles for Designers offers many helpful insights.
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