THE GESTALT

THEORY
 WHAT IS
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY?

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 GESTALT
PSYCHOLOGY
• Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and
behavior as a whole.
When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests
that we do not simply focus on every small component.

Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as elements of more complex

systems.

• A core belief in Gestalt psychology is holism, or that the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts.

• This school of psychology has played a major role in the modern development
of the study of human sensation and perception.

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 GESTALT MEANING
Gestalt is a German word that roughly means "configuration”
or the way things are put together to form a whole object.

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GESTALT THEORY
IN ART

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 GESTALT
THEORY
• Gestalt theory allows communicators to predict how
viewers will respond to design elements. Based on theories
of perception, the gestalt principles explain how whole
images are often perceived as more than the sum of their
parts.

• Knowing and using gestalt theory in technical

communication can help ensure that our visual messages
will be understood and that our designs will be dynamic.

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 GESTALT
THEORY
• We have all heard the expression that a picture is
worth a thousand words. However, considering gestalt
theory, some pictures say more than others. If we
know how to construct our pictures and how our
audiences will respond to them, our visual
communications will better complement our written
ones.

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 GESTALT
THEORY

• In Logo design, Gestalt Principles are the basic

principles required to create meaning in the
visual world. They are essential to the designing of
logos.

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 HISTORY OF
GESTALT THEORY

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 HISTORY OF
GESTALT THEORY

• Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer, Gestalt psychology formed partially as a

response to the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt. Although gestalt has been criticized
for being merely descriptive, it has formed the basis of much further research into the
perception of patterns and objects, and of research into behavior, thinking, problem
solving and perceiving. These laws took several forms, such as the grouping of
similar, or proximate, psychopathology.
• While Wundt was interested in breaking down psychological matters into their
smallest possible part, the Gestalt psychologists were instead interested in looking at
the totality of the mind and behavior.
• The guiding principle behind the Gestalt movement was that the whole was greater
than the sum of its parts. The development of this area of psychology was influenced
by a number of thinkers, including Immanuel Kant, Ernst Mach, and Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe.

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 HISTORY OF
GESTALT THEORY

• The concept of gestalt was first introduced in philosophy and psychology

in 1890 by Christian von Ehrenfels (a member of the School of Brentano).
The idea of gestalt has its roots in theories by David Hume, Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant, David Hartley, and Ernst Mach.
• Max Wertheimer’s unique contribution was to insist that the “gestalt” is
perceptually primary, defining the parts it was composed from, rather
than being a secondary quality that emerges from those parts, as Von
Ehrenfels’s earlier Gestalt-Qualität had been.

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 HISTORY OF
GESTALT THEORY

• Both von Ehrenfels and Edmund Husserl seem to have been inspired by
Mach’s work Beiträge zur Analyse der Empfindungen (Contributions to the
Analysis of Sensations, 1886), in formulating their very similar concepts of
gestalt and figural moment, respectively.
• Early 20th century theorists, such as Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and
Wolfgang Köhler (students of Carl Stumpf) saw objects as perceived within
an environment according to all of their elements taken together as a
global construct.

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 HISTORY OF
GESTALT THEORY

• This ‘gestalt’ or ‘whole form’ approach sought to define principles of

perception— seemingly innate mental laws that determined the way
objects were perceived.
• It is based on the here and now, and in the way things are seen. Images
can be divided into figure or ground. The question is what is perceived at
first glance: the figure in front, or the background.

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 USING THE GESTALT
THEORY IN BRAND MARKS

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 GESTALT THEORY IN BRAND MARKS

• Great businesses do not only focus on creating a logo, but they

also focus on creating brand marks. Brand marks are all the
visual elements that help identify a brand –these include a
logo, pictures, colors, and the overall design look.
• A successful logo can serve as a brand mark, where it can be
simplified or amped up to convert into a mascot, picture, initial
or even any other design element.

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Proximity

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 PROXIMITY

• The Gestalt principle of proximity is when an individual perceives several objects that
are close together as belonging together. An example of this is in the picture below.
• In the picture the dots are all the same color, size, and shape. The only reason that
we perceive two different blocks of dots is because of their position, and how close
they are to each other.
• If these dots were to be miles and miles apart, then we would not perceive them as
being a group.

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 PROXIMITY

• Another example of brands that uses proximity principle.

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CLOSURE

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 CLOSURE

• Have you seen those cool logos that make use of negative space? Or the logos
which don’t really have closed shapes, but our brain instantly completes the shape
for us? This is the law of closure working here, which is one of the gestalt principles.
• This principle states that the human brain has a tendency to seek out patterns, and if
the right amount of information is presented, the brain will use it to complete the
pattern.

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 CLOSURE

• Another example of brands that uses closure principle.

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SIMILARITY

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 SIMILARITY

• The law of similarity from the gestalt principles states that if the individual
elements share some kind of similar traits, the human brain will organize
them in a group and perceive them as a whole.
• This similarity can be explored in terms of size, color, texture or shapes. The
benefit of this principle is that it can help you link different parts of your
logo together.

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 SIMILARITY

• Another example of brands that uses similarity principle.

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FIGURE/GROUND

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 FIGURE/GROUND
• The figure-ground relationship explores the positive space and negative space
relationship in design. Logo designers can use negative and positive space to create
a visual hierarchy, to experiment with the principle of closure, to play with sizes and to
also create an emphasis on things!
• This effect is used to create a depth for a simple logo, such that there is a deep
illusion created as long as the surface is uniform.

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 FIGURE/GROUND

• Another example of brands that uses figure/ground principle.

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CONTINUITY

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 CONTINUITY

• The law of continuity states that elements that are similarly aligned will be perceived
as a whole –your eye will begin to follow them in that direction unless something
breaks the continuity. Again, this can help you bind different aspects of your logo
together.
• This continuation can be a valuable tool when the goal is to guide a visitor’s eye in a
certain direction. They will follow the simplest path on the page, so make sure the
most vital parts they should see fall within that path.

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 FIGURE/GROUND

• Another example of brands that uses continuity principle.

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 Order
(symmetry)

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 ORDER

• The order may be brought about by symmetry, or even through an

organized asymmetrical manner. In a nutshell, the goal is to create a
sense of order so your viewers are not lost in creating a relationship.
• In logo design and brand marks, this works best by way of symmetry. You
can create some great icons, logos, app buttons and more with the help
of symmetry.

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 ORDER

• Another example of brands that uses order and symmetry principle.

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WHY GESTALT THEORY IS
IMPORTANT IN DESIGN
AND LAYOUT?

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 IMPORTANCE

• As with any psychological principle, learning to incorporate the

visual perception principles of gestalt into your design work can
greatly improve the user experience. Understanding how the
human brain works and then exploiting a person’s natural
tendencies creates a more seamless interaction that makes a
user feel comfortable on a website, even if it’s their first visit.
• Gestalt principles are relatively easy to incorporate into just
about any design and can quickly elevate a design that seems
haphazard or like it’s fighting for a user’s attention to one that
offers a seamless, natural interaction that guides users toward the
action you want them to take.

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 IMPORTANCE

• Focusing on gestalt principles can help you in your design— when

you are hard pressed for inspiration, see which one of these
principles can you explore, and it will lead you down a very
creative path!
• Every time your eye meets a design, it triggers certain associations
and emotions. These emotions form your experience. Good
designers can work on the psychological element of humans and
produce pieces that give way to orderly, regular and
recognizable experiences.

Any design that can give more meaning to the chaotic world will
be successful.

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 IMPORTANCE

• Hence, exploring the psychological aspect of design helps to

determine the most effective design elements in a situation, allows
the designers to focus on the certain points that lead to behavioral
change. The best designs are said not only to address the main
problem of the customers but also are high on appeal.
• It is thus safe to conclude here that psychology and design are
intricately related and exert a great influence on one another.

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 SOURCES

• 1. Chapman, Cameron (2018, March 27). Exploring the Gestalt Principles of

Design. https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/gestalt-principles-of-design
• 2. Editors of The Interaction Design Foundation. What are Gestalt Principles.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/gestalt-principles
• 3. Cherry, Kendra (Updated: 2022, Feb. 14). What is Gestalt Psychology.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-gestalt-psychology-2795808
• 4. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2020, May 26). Gestalt
psychology. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Gestalt-psychology

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THANK YOU!