Gestalt rules of design

Let's take a look at the gestalt theory of design to see how it relates to the way designers work today. The study of gestalt originated in Germany in the 1920s. Much of the theory stems from psychology and higher order cognitive processes, but we'll focus on the gestalt theory of visual perception.

By definition the term gestalt means "a unified, physical, psychological or symbolic configuration having properties that cannot be derived from its parts." The concepts are broken down into separate categories:

• Closure. The mind provides the missing pieces in a composition. Take for example the FedEx logo. Although there's no arrow actually placed in the logo, the mind processes the information and recognizes that the negative space in between the E and the x makes the shape of an arrow.
• Continuance. The eye continues in a specific direction. For example, when reading a newspaper, your eyes will travel_horizontally with each headline, while the small vertical columns of text within the page prevent your eyes from traveling right off the page. A simple explanation of this concept can be demonstrated by how you'll continue&&.reading from left to right even when there's a break in the text.
• Similarity. Objects that are similar are grouped together. When looking at a design as a whole, viewers tend to form groups in logical ways based on what the information looks like and where the various items are located. Size, shape and color also help to establish groups. By having similar shapes or colors you can create unity within a design; or if you choose to do the reverse, you can easily create_disorder.
• Proximity. This is the relationship of objects based on placement. Where you place certain elements within a design will affect how they're perceived. For example, if you have text overlapping text, they'll become one form and you'll lose readability, whereas text on separate lines is easy to read and the words remain separate components.
• Alignment. Place items so that they line up. By lining up the separate elements within your layout, you're actually forming groups and organizing information to create order.

Test the theory
As you're creating a layout or design, take into account each of these principles. How are you grouping the objects within the page? Have you created a visual harmony? Are there groupings of information? Are you allowing the viewer to establish closure? All of these are important aspects of creating a successful design.

Break the rules
As important as these rules are, there will come a point where they just don't apply. Undoubtedly, you'll always incorporate one or two aspects of gestalt, but do you really have to align each object in a layout? Of course not. The key to gestalt is to look at the image as a whole and to see how each element affects one another. As long as there's balance visually, you can virtually do anything.