Six Gestalt Principles

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Six Gestalt Principles
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The Role of Senses

• Touch 1.5
• Taste 1.5
• Smell 6
• Hearing 11
• Sight 80
• Source Creative Negotiating Proven Techniques
  for Getting What Your Want From Any Negotiation,
  by Steven Kozicki, Adams Media Corp., 260 Center
  ST, Holbrook, MA 02343.

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Gestalt Summary

• Gestalt research (1920s) theorized on the effects
  of visual organization and visual stimuli on our
  perceptual system.
• Not concerned with what you learn but how you
  learn it.
• When a reader, who does not know way about new
  material, begins to seize what is most important
  features.
• In research on Gestalt theory, information needs
  to be visually attractive, inviting, and easy to
  access, follow, and understand.
  (Moore Fitz, 2003)

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Six Gestalt Principles

• Figure-ground segregation
• Symmetry or equilibrium
• Closure
• Proximity
• Continuity
• Similarity

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Figure-ground Segregation

• When figure and ground are highly contrasted,
  our visual attention alternates between the two.
• A problem usually occurs if you cannot quickly
  distinguish some image or figure because it is
  too similar to its background.

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Symmetry

• Items are organized into simple figures
  according to symmetry, regularity, and
  smoothness.
• A problem may occur if the shape on the page
  seems asymmetrical or unbalanced.

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Closure

• We interpret visual stimuli as complete, closed
  figures, even when some of the necessary contour
  information is absent.
• A problem occurs if you cannot identify readily
  what the major self-contained units or components
  of the text are.

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Proximity

• Individual elements are perceived as a group
  with nearby elements, even if they are separated.
• A problem occurs if a reader is confused because
  things are farther apart that should be closer
  together, or because things are closer together
  that should be farther apart.

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Continuity

• We tend to see shapes as continuous and
  unbroken, even when they are not so.  
• A problem occurs if your eye continues when it
  shouldnt, or if your eye does not continue when
  it should.

10
Similarity

• Elements tend to be perceived as a group when
  they share the same visual characteristics
  (shape, size, color, texture, value,
  orientation).
• A problem occurs if equal or similar
  characteristics are represented with different
  spacing, typography, color, underlining, etc. 

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• Keep gestalt principles in mind when designing
  your powerpoint presentation.
• Read page 135 in your textbook for design
  pointers.
• Consider incorporating graphics, charts, or
  tables that can visually represent text.
• Use at least one graphic that represents the
  overarching theme of your report.