'associationism,' the view that more complex ideas arise from the association of simpler ideas.'sensationalism,' the view that the simplest constituents-the atoms of thought-are elementary sense impressions.'atomism,' also known as 'elementalism,' : 3 the view that all knowledge, even complex abstract ideas, is built from simple, elementary constituents.: 3 Structuralism was rooted firmly in British empiricism : 3 and was based on three closely interrelated theories: : 113–116 The dominant view in psychology at the time was structuralism, exemplified by the work of Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894), Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), and Edward B. Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Kurt Koffka (1886–1941), and Wolfgang Köhler (1887–1967) founded Gestalt psychology in the early 20th century.

įurther information: History of psychology § Gestalt psychology Gestalt psychology was founded on works by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka. The view is sometimes summarized using the adage, 'the whole is more than the sum of its parts.' : 13 Gestalt principles, proximity, similarity, figure-ground, continuity, closure, and connection, describe how humans perceive visuals in connection with different objects and environments. Gestalt psychologists emphasized that organisms perceive entire patterns or configurations, not merely individual components. Īs used in Gestalt psychology, the German word Gestalt ( / ɡ ə ˈ ʃ t æ l t, - ˈ ʃ t ɑː l t, - ˈ ʃ t ɔː l t, - ˈ s t ɑː l t, - ˈ s t ɔː l t/ gə- SHTA(H)LT, -⁠ STAHLT, -⁠ S(H)TAWLT, German: ( listen) meaning 'form' ) is interpreted as 'pattern' or 'configuration'. (And why 3-column designs are all the rage.) Studies have also shown that our standard for “beauty” in faces depends largely on symmetry.Gestalt psychology, gestaltism or configurationism is a school of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century in Austria and Germany as a theory of perception that was a rejection of basic principles of Wilhelm Wundt's and Edward Titchener's elementalist and structuralist psychology. That’s probably why symmetry proves so popular in governmental buildings throughout the world. That’s why symmetry is so satisfying to us: it’s a simple, harmonious rule that conveys a sense of order and rightness in things. It should come as no surprise that people tend to look for order in objects, and symmetry is one means of doing that. The Gestalt principle of symmetry is when people perceive symmetrical elements as part of a unified group.

Dramatic whitespace, like when you place a focal point in total isolation from other elementsĪnd so much more.

Typographic emphasis, like bolding, italics, all caps, etc.

Dramatic size changes, such as a hero headline set at 72pt.

Dramatic color changes, such as when a CTA button or other link is given a highly contrasting color.

Of course, there are all kinds of ways to create emphasis in a design, including: But that centrality makes it all the more important to intelligently and purposefully apply emphasis and difference - after all, as the saying goes, “if everything’s emphasized, nothing is.” Focal pointsįocal points are points of interest, emphasis, or difference capture and hold our attention.įocal points serve as the key to so many elements of web design that it almost feels odd to point it out. These parallel lines create tension with the otherwise scattered text, but also create relief by momentarily restoring a normal reading experience to the dynamic composition. Lines of parallel text help us make sense of this complex tangle of letters.Īmidst this chaotic jumble of text, Marinetti offers occasional breathers of (relative) clarity and relatedness by setting a few lines of type parallel to each other. The text “Headlines” is clearly related to all the content in the card below - even though it’s not enclosed within the card. Objects that are close together are seen as related, while objects that are far apart … aren’t.įor example, check out Google’s News site, below.

The Gestalt principle of proximity is when we see objects that are close to each other as more related than objects that are far apart. Now that you have a general idea of the seven Gestalt principles of design, let’s take a deeper dive into each one. There are seven Gestalt web design principles: You can try to see the more complex arrangement, but it takes more effort - your eyes just want to return to the simpler pattern. As per the Law of Prägnanz, we see the Olympic logo as interlocking rings, instead of a bunch of meaningless, complex shapes.

Law of similarity psychology