Case Study

History and Use of Gestalt Principles in Contemporary Product Design and Interaction Design

By Rohan Joy (B.des, NID Ahmedabad 2026)

Look at this image of chess pieces. We understand that all of these chess pieces come from the same
set. However, how do we confirm this visually?

It is this base portion of the chess pieces that ties together all of them. There are definitely other
parts of this that ties them together such as the color, texture and weight but the important thing to
note is that all of this is governed by the Gestalt principle of similarity. The law of similarity states
that elements within an assortment of objects are perceptually grouped together if they are similar
to each other. This similarity can occur in the form of shape, colour, shading or other qualities. 1

As used in Gestalt psychology, the German word Gestalt meaning "form" is interpreted as "pattern"
or "configuration". Gestalt psychologists emphasized that organisms perceive entire patterns or
configurations, not merely individual components. The view is sometimes summarized using the
adage, "the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” 2

In terms of design, Gestalt principles are a fundamental part of design psychology and
craftsmanship. However, since most research is done into how it affects graphic design and the
visual components of communication design, this paper is meant to help us have a glimpse into it’s
impact in product design and industrial design.

These principles were formulated in the 1900s and ever since then, designers have been actively
utilizing the concepts of Gestalt psychology to enhance their products through the active
consideration of color usage, size perception, etc.
In this study, we will be going over individual examples of the most popular types of Gestalt usage in
design practice.

1. Uses of Gestalt Principles

1.1 Figure-ground organization (Negative Space)

Figure-ground organization is the interpretation of perceptual elements in terms of their shapes and
relative locations in the layout of surfaces in the 3-D world. 3 This is commonly referred to by
designers as Negative Space. Applying it as an active element to an actual 3D space is a lesser used
practice but still a practice nonetheless.

Berg by Arash Eskafi

The above is a clothes holder design from Arash Eskafi showcased at NYCxDesign 2013.

It is a brilliant piece showcasing the active utilization of Negative Space as an element of design. This
is an unconventional use of negative space according to traditional usage which is the creation of
recognizable elements using negative space and is abstract in nature.

Similarly, we find creative uses of negative space in many packing designs which incorporate
elements of both product design and graphic design. The below is an example of such a design.

Seven Seas by Judii Tran

1.2 Law of Proximity

 The law of proximity states that when an individual perceives an assortment of objects, they
perceive objects that are close to each other as forming a group. In the following image, we perceive
the groups of buttons as 4 sets even though the colors are different in one set. This is because of the
Law of Proximity.

https://www.controldesign.com/articles/2018/get-physical-with-buttons/

1.3 Law of Similarity

For the law of similarity, we can refer back to the photo above which was shown at the beginning of
the paper. The chess pieces are connected together as a set by the similarity of the bases among
other aspects.

1.4 Law of closure

The law of closure refers to when objects are made incomplete and we let our mind fill the gaps. It is
less commonly used in industrial products and leans more towards toys for children and so on. The
following example is a toy called Quercetti’s Pixel Evo 160. The example shown is the structure of a
bird which was made using the product as a pixel art medium.
 1.5 Law of symmetry
The law of symmetry states that the mind perceives objects as being symmetrical and forming
around a center point. It is perceptually pleasing to divide objects into an even number of
symmetrical parts.

1.6 Law of past experience

This law is especially important for interaction design. It states that if two objects are perceived
together at regular intervals for extended periods of time, we begin to see them as a group even
without law of proximity.

Here, the UI choice of keeping the minimize button, close button and the multiple windows button
is overused to the point we perceive them as a group even when not in proximity.

Statistics, Cue Independence and the Power of Proximity

Not all Gestalt laws are equal. There are some which are inherently more powerful than the others.
Statistics show that the strongest Gestalt Law is Proximity. 4 It was proven via this study that the
Proximity cue handles around 75% of the decision making factors when it comes to grouping using
 the gestalt principles in nature. The same study also shows that the different gestalt cues are
independent from one another. This means that we can actively apply different gestalt laws together
to create a complex product.

2. History of Gestalt principles in Design

The roots of Gestalt usage in Design come from its clever usage in cartography.

In map design, grouping is used for various purposes such as implying the features on the map to
scale properly. This is essential for us to use the map properly.

The Law of Similarity is employed by selecting similar map symbols for similar kinds of features or
features with similar properties; the Law of Proximity is crucial to identifying geographic patterns
and regions; and the Laws of Closure and Continuity allow users to recognize features that may be
obscured by other features (such as when a road goes over a river). 5

We also have to appreciate the usage of Gestalt principles in pieces such as La danse, Bacchante by
Jean Metzinger or The Drawing Of The Black Bean by Frederic Remington to fully understand it’s
usage in contemporary design.

3. Conclusion :

The use of Gestalt principles in modern design isn’t accidental or a hasty judgement. It is a very well
thought out process with enough merits over demerits. Tracing the history of Gestalt usage in design
also proves that it’s usage began due to it’s practicality.

Citatations:
1
Soegaard, Mads. Gestalt Principles of form Perception (2012)
2
Sternberg, Robert J.; Sternberg, Karin (2012). Cognitive Psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage
Learning.
3
Wagemans, Johan; Elder, James H.; Kubovy, Michael; Palmer, Stephen E.; Peterson, Mary A.; Singh,
Manish; von der Heydt, Rüdiger (2012). "A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception: I.
Perceptual grouping and figure-ground organization"
4
Elder, James; Goldberg, Richard. Ecological statistics of Gestalt laws for the perceptual organization
of contours
5
Tait, Alex (2018). "Visual Hierarchy and Layout". Geographic Information Science & Technology
Body of Knowledge.