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Concept
user experienceGestalt Principles
The Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception are a set of rules based on psychological theories of human perception. They were developed in the 1920s by German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler who stated that the human brain is wired to see structure, logic, and patterns in order to make sense of the world. In other words, humans want to see structure by default. The principles are widely used in modern design asthey help designers to determine which design elements effectively catch the user’s attention, and create easy-to-use, intuitive products. The six most common rules are listed below.
Figure-ground
Humans organize their perception by interpreting closed shapes to be figures on a ground.
Proximity
Elements which are near to each other tend to be perceived as group.
Common fate
Elements pointing or moving in the same direction are perceived as group.
Similarity
Similar looking elements tend to be perceived as group.
Continuity
Humans recognize oriented elements as perceptual wholes and follow them in visual flow.
Closure
Humans tend to automatically fill the gaps between visual elements to complete shapes.