PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN GESTALT Unity and Harmony Saad Aqeel Alzarooni 2012
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Introduction According to Gestalt theory, 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. Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton: Visual Design Fundamentals (2009).
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G E S T A L T
UNITY Unity expresses the idea that things belong together. Harmony is another word that might be used in place of unity. The idea that we tend to group similar elements and try to find a relationship that exist between them is an example of how the design principle of unity is incorporated into the Gestalt theory of visual perception.
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Unity This is an example of how grouping similar elements creates harmony in design. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Lack Of Unity This is an example of design that is chaotic and uncomfortable to view.
Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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G E S T A L T
UNITY AND PLACEMENT USING LINE The placement of lines of type that are organized to group information that is related.
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Unity and Placement Using Line This is example of a page that uses the placemat of lines of type and surrounded space to create a relationship between various forms of information. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Unity and Placement Using Line This shows the shapes and values that are formed by lines of type.
Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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G E S T A L T
UNITY AND PLACEMENT USING SHAPE The placement of elements next to each other is one way to create unity.
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Unity And Placement Using Shape This example shows shapes are placed far apart and all are too close to the picture frame. When this happens, the edges of the composition will receive the attention, and the middle feels open and empty. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Unity And Placement Using Shape All of the shapes are placed in the center of the frame and close to each others. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Unity And Placement Using Shape This example shows chaos. Shapes placed at random.
Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Unity And Placement Using Shape This example show a unifying design. Shapes placed with similar line direction and related aspects of the shapes themselves. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Unity And Placement Using Shape Type set close together and the same type set loose.
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Unity And Placement Using Shape Unity between type and lines of type.
© 2012 s a a d a q e e l a z l a r o o n i
G E S T A L T
REPETITION USING LINE Repetition is a characteristic of unity that can be applied to any element of design. The idea is that a part of a design repeats somewhere else in a composition to create unity.
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Repetition Using Line This is an example of how repetition of a line can unify a composition. The design is made up of three shapes. The shapes seem to feel unified but the circle seems out of place. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Repetition Using Line This example illustrates how repeating a line similar to the circle can make the entire composition more harmonious. The newly added line is large to give the design variety and interest. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Repeated Line Direction and Unity This example of how repeating the vertical line directions of primary shapes unifies a design. However, the design contains shapes that seem unrelated. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Repeated Line Direction and Unity This example shows that through the use of vertical line direction, the shapes appear to be more unified. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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G E S T A L T
REPETITION USING SHAPE There are two types of shapes: rectilinear and curvilinear. Designs that consist of similar types of shapes are usually harmonious.
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Repetition Using Shape This example shows design with similar rectilinear shapes.
Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Repetition Using Shape This example shows design with similar curvilinear shapes.
Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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Repetition Using Shape The design makes use of both shapes in one composition, illustrating the idea that both types of shapes can be present in a unified design. The idea that these shapes are different from each other but can exist in the same design is a good example of balancing unity with variety. Inspired by: Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton (2009).
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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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