1. In a clearly structured paragraph, identify (name) and define (explain) the Gestalt principles of visual perception discussed in Chapter 2 of the Johnson text. Cite Johnson in APA style.
Johnson (2010) suggests that visual perception operates on the so-called Gestalt principles, meaning that our vision automatically imposes structure to visual inputs received (p. 11). (Gestalt means “shape or “figure”). He states that the most important of those principles are “Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, Symmetry, Figure/Ground, and Common Fate” (p. 11).
- Proximity: Relative spacing between numbers of displayed objects determines how and whether we see a group. Closer: they appear grouped; wider: they do not (p. 11).
- Similarity: Objects appearing to be more similar to each other than other objects around them are perceived as a group (p. 14).
- Continuity: Our visual system fills in gaps to see whole objects rather than disconnected parts. The IBM logo is an example: disconnected lines making the letters “IBM” (pp. 15, 16).
- Closure: When we see open figures our vision tends to convert them to complete, closed shapes (p. 17).
- Symmetry: Complex images are automatically interpreted to reduce complexity and to make them appear symmetrical (p. 18).
- Figure/Ground: Our vision system separates items in an image into the foreground (the main item) and the background (everything else) (pp. 19, 20).
- Common Fate: Objects moving in a similar way and/or together are interpreted as being grouped (p. 22).
2. In your own words, explain to a non-design audience how the Gestalt principles lead to Johnson’s conclusion that our vision is optimized to see structure.
In describing the Gestalt principles in Chapter 2 of his book, Johnson gives at least one visual example (image) in every case – more than one where clarification or emphasis is needed to help understanding of the principle concerned. Having read the chapter and reviewed the examples provided, it is easy to see why – as Johnson states – that “the findings of neurophysiological researchers support the observations of the Gestalt psychologists” (p. 11).
As Johnson states in his concluding remarks in Chapter 2, those principles can be seen to work in combination in real-life scenes and situations such as the desktop on a computer monitor, and that when designing such a user interface, it is good design practice to contemplate each Gestalt principle in turn, to ensure as far as possible that there is no unintentional visual relationship created.
Each example image included in the pages of Chapter 2 clearly demonstrates the validity of the text it supports, confirming one by one that each of the principles is valid and therefore that in combination they confirm the hypothesis that our vision systems do indeed attempt to see structure and whole objects, even when there are missing elements in the visual data we receive.
Reference:
Johnson, Jeff. (2010). Chapter 2: Our Vision is Optimized to See Structure. In Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Rules (pp. 11-24). Burlington, MA: Elsevier Inc.
