BlogginGestaltDesign: Yes, even hamsters can teach you something about Gestalt.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yes, even hamsters can teach you something about Gestalt.

I saw this magazine ad for the Kia Soul, and I realized that Gestalt works on motion (video) as it does in print design.

The print ad is a wonderful example of the Gestalt principle of similarity. Similarity is when items are perceived as being related because they have a similar shape, color, size, etc. This is actually an example of the inverse of similarity, where everything is the same and this makes the odd item stand out amid the others. That’s what makes the hamsters in the red Kia Soul stand out among the hamsters in the wheels.

This made me start thinking about the Kia Soul Hamster TV ad, and how they use the same inverse of similarity. Notice how everything in this ad is a very muted color allowing you to focus on the red Kia Soul.

Who knew dancing hamsters could be so interesting?

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So why a blog about Gestalt in design?

I went to college as an illustration major. When I realized that I would have to freelance to make money I quickly decided to get a full time job illustrating at a newspaper. My style (crosshatching) was quite time consuming and they wanted me to find a faster style. While this was happening I started to learn to design pages. So learning page design was all on the job training. Luckily I had great people teaching me. Fast forward a few years to when I started teaching design theory at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. All of a sudden, I understood the reasons behind what I had been taught on the job. The one theory that stood out among all the rest was Gestalt and its principles. So I’ve presented on Gestalt to other designers. It is a common thread that many designers did not start out as designers, they were also taught on the job but don’t know why one design was better than another.

So those of you who are about to Google Gestalt, let me answer that here.

Early 20th century theorists saw objects as perceived within an environment according to all of their elements taken together as a “whole” unit. Not as individual pieces that did not relate to one another.

So here are the principles of Gestalt design.

Similarity: Items are perceived as being be related because they have a similar shape, color, size, angle, etc.

Proximity: Items are perceived as being be related by how close they are positioned to one another.

Continuation: Your eye moves in a certain direction until it is directed into another direction.

Closure: Even if an image is incomplete, your mind fills in the gaps to complete it.

Figure/ground: An image (figure) is separated from its surroundings (ground). This is how contrast in a design is created. When the figure and the ground become ambiguous, it can create an interesting image.

Isomorphic Correspondence: Simple means, when we see an image such as a painting or a photo, we interpret its meaning based upon our experiences and memories. For example, you see a recliner and you think of your father sitting in his recliner watching football.

So, in a nutshell that is Gestalt. Next, some of the great designs out there that have used Gestalt and how it makes the consumer take a second look.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yes, even hamsters can teach you something about Gestalt.

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So why a blog about Gestalt in design?

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