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"Gestalt" is German for "unified whole". The first Gestalt Principles were devised in the 1920s by German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler-who aimed to understand how humans typically gain meaningful perceptions from the chaotic stimuli around them. They identified a set of laws which address the natural compulsion to find order in disorder. According to this, the mind "informs" what the eye sees by perceiving a series of individual elements as a whole. Professionals in the then-growing industry of graphic design quickly adopted these principles, and designers have since used Gestalt Principles extensively to craft designs with well-placed elements that catch the eye as larger, whole images.The whole is other than the sum of the parts.

- Kurt Koffka

7 gestalt principles

of visual perception.

Great designers understand the powerful role that psychology plays in visual perception. What happens when someone's eye meets your design creations? How does their mind react to the message your piece is sharing?
-Laura Busche, Brand Content Strategist at Autodesk

principle 1

figure-ground

The figure-ground principle states that people instinctively perceive objects as either being in the foreground or the background. They either stand out prominently in the front (the figure) or recede into the back (the ground).

principle 2

similarity

The principle of similarity states that when things appear to be similar to each other, we group them together. And we also tend to think they have the same function. A variety of design elements, like color and organization, can be used to establish similar groups.

principle 3

proximity

The principle of proximity states that things that are close together appear to be more related than things that are spaced farther apart. Proximity is so powerful that it overrides similarity of color, shape, and other factors that might differentiate a group of objects.

principle 4

common region

The principle of common region is highly related to proximity. It states that when objects are located within the same closed region, we perceive them as being grouped together.

principle 5

continuity

The principle of continuity states that elements that are arranged on a line or curve are perceived to be more related than elements not on the line or curve.

principle 6

closure

The principle of closure states that when we look at a complex arrangement of visual elements, we tend to look for a single, recognizable pattern. In other words, when you see an image that has missing parts, your brain will fill in the blanks and make a complete image so you can still recognize the pattern.

principle 7

focal point

The focal point principle states that whatever stands out visually will capture and hold the viewer's attention first. It's the first point of interest that grabs your attention, and from there your attention moves to other parts of the image.