Gestalt Laws

Gestalt Laws

The whole is worth more than the sum of the parts
1. organising parts that make up the stimulus of what we can see gives us a more complete perception, so the whole that we end up with is worth more than the sum of all the individual parts
Figure and ground
1. a small, complex, symmetrical object (figure) is seen as separate from a background (ground)
2. figure is complex, small and symmetrical
3. ground is simple, large and disorganised
Similarity
1. figures sharing size, shape or colour are grouped together with other things that look the same
2. we group together things with the same characteristics and separate them from things which look different
Proximity
1. objects which are close together are perceived to be related
2. we tend to see some things as grouped because they are close together
Continuity
1. straight lines, curves and shapes are perceived to carry on being the same
2. we link things that follow a predictable pattern, this makes them look as if they are continuous or joined, even if they are not
Closure
1. lines or shapes are perceived as complete figures even if parts are missing
2. when we organise perception we fill in the gaps, instead of seeing lines, we make the lines into complete edges and therefore perceive a shape surrounded by the line

Resource summary

	Created by sophieisnotakise over 10 years ago