Gestalt & Design Principles
(Posted on Oct 29th 2022)An interesting thing I’ve discovered recently is how psychology and design overlap. Why do certain designs work better than others, or feel more intuitive? Well after learning about Gestalt’s Principles of design I’ve learned why! I’ll be talking about Gestalt’s Principles, as well as something called “Shape Language” in this post, and I hope to offer a better understanding behind some of the decisions designers make!
(Credit to
“Gestalt Principles” are a set of design principles/guidelines that help designers understand why certain design decisions evoke specific reactions within people. These principles can help explain the psychology behind specific design decisions, and these principles were created using science-backed psychology research. Designers can use Gestalt principles to design in ways that feel intuitive.
Essentially, the purpose of these principles is to help provide clear guidelines for visual designers to follow, in a way that delivers a universally shared experience. These principles can help designers make informed, research-based design decisions when designing!
Essentially, the purpose of these principles is to help provide clear guidelines for visual designers to follow, in a way that delivers a universally shared experience. These principles can help designers make informed, research-based design decisions when designing!
The Principles
Law of Proximity![]()
People tend to group together elements that are near each other. It doesn’t matter if these elements have different shapes, sizes, or colors.
Law of Closure
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People have the tendency to literally try to see the whole picture. If there are any gaps in a figure, the human brain will still understand the bigger context by ignoring the gaps.
Law of Similarity
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Because of this law, it looks like there are four columns. If all the elements had the same shape and color, you wouldn’t think about four separate columns but rather a single group.
Law of Common Region
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This law explains that elements that are put together in the same closed region will be understood as a group.
People tend to group together elements that are near each other. It doesn’t matter if these elements have different shapes, sizes, or colors.
Law of Closure
People have the tendency to literally try to see the whole picture. If there are any gaps in a figure, the human brain will still understand the bigger context by ignoring the gaps.
Law of Similarity
Because of this law, it looks like there are four columns. If all the elements had the same shape and color, you wouldn’t think about four separate columns but rather a single group.
Law of Common Region
This law explains that elements that are put together in the same closed region will be understood as a group.
Law of Continuity
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Individual elements that are positioned in a continuous line or a soft curve seem more related to one another than elements that are positioned randomly or in a sharp curve.
Law of Figure and Ground
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This law shows that people instinctively recognize if elements are in the foreground or background. Users also know that the foreground is more important than the background.
Law of Symmetry
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Symmetric elements give users an organized, comfortable feel. Asymmetrical designs can lead users to feel like something’s wrong, missing or out of balance.
Law of Common Fate
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The law of common fate says that elements that move in the same direction are more likely to be considered to belong together than those that move in opposite directions or don’t move at all.
Individual elements that are positioned in a continuous line or a soft curve seem more related to one another than elements that are positioned randomly or in a sharp curve.
Law of Figure and Ground
This law shows that people instinctively recognize if elements are in the foreground or background. Users also know that the foreground is more important than the background.
Law of Symmetry
Symmetric elements give users an organized, comfortable feel. Asymmetrical designs can lead users to feel like something’s wrong, missing or out of balance.
Law of Common Fate
The law of common fate says that elements that move in the same direction are more likely to be considered to belong together than those that move in opposite directions or don’t move at all.
How are these used in practice?
For a few examples of these principles being put to use, I’d like to share a GDC talk I saw recently that showcases specific examples via level design in the game Gears of War. I think this talk does a great job at providing further clarity as well as real world examples of their usage:
There’s honestly not a whole lot more to talk about regarding these principles/laws aside from the fact that they can be greatly helpful in various different design fields, and are based around scientific research. If you’re able to design something and point to specific design principles to back up your design decisions, it can make a big difference. I hope this video offered some food for thought!
Other design ideologies?
Designers have many different ideologies or principles they can point to when designing. “Shape Language” is another ideology for example! Shape Language influences how users view something and can even illicit an emotional response. Here’s a visual demonstration to better explain this concept:
Illustration by Walt Disney
Using psychology principles, we understand that these shapes can all convey a certain meaning. Level designers and visual designers can utilize this to their advantage and reshape the feelings a user has towards something. Say you have a warning/error popup, we’d take advantage of the effects colors and shapes have on the brain to create a sense of urgency or importance. Speaking of the effects colors have, it can be compared to Shape language in a way! Colors have inherent effects on our brains too, and you can read more on that via this article here.
It all ties together in the end, and whenever you see a product now out in the wild, pay attention to the little things and see if you can notice these principles being used... you’d be surprised to find out just how popular they are. Psychology has a profound impact on how we perceive and interact with the world around us. If you’d like to read more about Shape Language, check out Walt Disney’s Shape Language PDF!