GestaltVisual perception

Ways to Achieve UnityProximityRepetitionContinuationContinuity

Unity with VarietyThe gridVaried repetitionEmphasis on unityEmphasis on varietyChaos versus control

Unity

Harmony

Harmony1 : Presentation of an integrated image

If the elements in an image look like they “belong together”, then the image is said to be harmonious

Harmony may come from:

• representational imagery

• abstract forms

Gestalt

Gestalt psychology

The study of how humans organize perceptual stimuli

The process of making wholes out of parts

“A design’s unity is more that the simple addition of its parts.”

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

Gestalt Principles

Figure / Ground

positive space / negative space

foreground / background

Completion (closure)

Continuation

Similarity

Proximity

Space

Space is undefined until it is activated by the placement of an object

Placing an element in a space creates a figure/ground relationship

Space is not yet defined

Space is activated

Figure & Ground

Figure: What is in our field of perceptual awareness Psychology: Figure

Art and Photography: Positive space

Engineering: Signal

Ground: That which serves as the surrounding contextPsychology: Ground

Art and Photography: Negative space

Engineering: noise

Types of Figure/Ground Relationships

Stable

Reversible (gestalt switch)

Ambiguous

Types of Figure/Ground: Stable

A B C

A: Centering a figure neutralizes negative space

B: Placing the figure off center activates negative space;

C: Bleeding the figure makes it more dynamic

Types of Figure/Ground: Reversible

Types of Figure/Ground: Ambiguous

What is the figure? What is the ground?

REM BER ERTH ISIFYO UPU TTH EINT ERV ALINTH EWRO NGPLA CEITC ANCA USEP ROB LE MS.

The interval allows the viewer to complete the action.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabridge Uinervtisy, it deosn ’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoantnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is becuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Most people will only see blank dots and lines. They usually will need a hint (it is a farm animal cow)

You can only see one figure at a time

http://jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm

Closure

Closure: spontaneous human behavior in which the brain completes an unfinished or unconnected shape

Requires active participation by the viewer

Closure succeeds when there is careful manipulation of the spaces between elements

The interval is important in perceiving closure

Which image contains the most tension between the star and the square?

Continuation / Continuity

Continuation: the arrangement of forms so they are “continuous” from one element to another, leading the eye across space.

Usually a line, an edge, or a direction from one form to another.

Visual elements that require the fewest number of interruptions will be grouped to form continuous straight or curved lines.

What do you see first? Seeing a pair of X’s would require the fewest interruptions or changes. One can also see other characters, such as V, W, or M. However, they are more difficult to see because they require more visual changes. It is easier to see the slanting lines as continuous than discontinuous. To see them as discontinuous, one has to visually tear the gestalt apart.

“Nude, 1936” by Edward Weston. Image taken from Zakia, RD. (2007). Perception and imaging (pg. 51). Burlington, MA: Focal Press.

Similarity

Similarity: Visual elements that share common characteristics.

Types of Similarity

shape, size, color, movement, tonality, direction, etc.

How many groups do you see? How are the elements in the group(s) similar?

ProximityProximity: The closer two or more visual elements are, the greater

the probability that they will be seen as a group or pattern.

The smaller an area or space, the greater the probability that it will be seen as figure rather than ground.

Contrast between foreground and background enhances the figure/ground relationship.

- signal-to-noise ration

Figure

Figure

Grouping of Elements

No grouping. Without grouping of elements, the viewer has seven individuals elements to visually absorb. The format appears unorganized and the elements too complex.

Grouped elements. By grouping, the number of elements is reduced, which simplifies the composition and enhances the white space.

Grouping of similar elements. Rectangle elements of a similar width can be grouped.

Grouping of dissimilar elements. Rectangle elements of different widths can be grouped.

Negative Space and Grouping