Gestalt’s laws still valid in the modern world

Gestalt’s laws still valid in the modern world

Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world. The school of gestalt practiced a series of theoretical and methodological principles that attempted to redefine the approach to psychological research. This is in contrast to investigations developed at the beginning of the 20th century, based on traditional scientific methodology, which divided the object of study into a set of elements that could be analysed separately with the objective of reducing the complexity of this object. The fundamental principle of gestalt perception is the law of prägnanz, which says that we tend to order our experience in a manner that is regular, orderly, symmetrical, and simple. Gestalt psychologists attempt to discover refinements of the law of prägnanz, and this involves writing down laws that, hypothetically, allow us to predict the interpretation of sensation, what are often called "gestalt laws". Law of proximity This law states that items placed nearby are groups together into the same visual group.

An example of this is the IBM logo which consists of 8 parallel lines however they are separated in such a manner that we are able to recognise the company’s name away from the foreground. Another example is the Unilever logo which consists of small icons grouped together by proximity to form the alphabet U.

Law of closure

According to this our brain doesn’t perceive things individually but as a collective image.

An example of this is the WWF’s panda logo. The image if you look closely is just a random set of back blotches but our eyes complete it into an image of a panda bear.

Law of foreground-background

Have a look at the logo of FedEx, ever noticed the arrow between the alphabets E and X? Well it has been craftily hidden there keeping this law in mind.

People find this factor very fascinating and once they locate it they keep doing so every time they see the logo, this had won the creator many awards as well.

The law further states that visual classification is primarily done by proximity, then colour and then and only then on the grounds of similarity (shape, size or form).

As various companies still choose till date to create interesting illusionary logo designs we realise the charm of the basic of design principles ‘The gestalt Law’ is extraordinary and timeless.