Gestalt Theory

GESTALT VISUAL PERCEPTION = Mind + Eye Saad Aqeel Alzarooni 2012

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G E S TA LT A THEORY OF PERCEPTION It centers around the recognition that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

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Gestalt theory is widely accepted psychological study on the subject of human perception of visual elements.

Basically, the theory states that human naturally look for order or a relationship between various elements. They observe and analyze individual parts of an image as separate components and have the tendency to group these parts into a larger image that may be very different from the components.

Hashimoto and Clayton (2009): Visual Design Fundamentals.

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Different parts

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The unified whole is different from the sum of the parts

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G E S TA LT SIX PRINCIPALS 1.

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Closure Proximity Continuity Similarity Figure and ground Symmetry

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4 similarity

1 closure

2 proximity

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continuation

figure and ground (tree within the letter A)

symmetry

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1. CLOSURE It occurs when gaps appear between shapes, people tend to mentally close those gaps and form a perception of a whole object.

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2. PROXIMITY Objects placed close together are often perceived as a group.

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3. CONTINUATION It occurs when the human eyes follow the direction from one object to another, perceiving separate objects as one.

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4. SIMILARITY Similar objects are often perceived as a group.

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5. FIGURE/GROUND Different shapes that are formed by the figure and background.

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6. SYMMETRY Symmetry is defined as the exact reflection of form on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane.

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saad aqeel alzarooni Saad is passionate social designer and ethnographic researcher. His current research interests fall mainly in applied knowledge modeling for planning and evaluation and visual thinking for design research.

Links: linkedin.com/in/saadaqeelalzarooni contextualresearch.wordpress.com ideaviz.wordpress.com saadaqeelalzarooni.wordpress.com issuu.com/saadaqeel

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