Part III Gestalt GESTALT The Visual Language Visual

Part III: Gestalt

GESTALT The Visual Language: Visual language has grammar. It is based on the brain’s perceptual processes, and its organizational structure is key to stimulating viewer responses. Random musical notes produce audible noise, random letters or words produce literary noise (gibberish) and lacking any cohesive structure, random visual elements produce visual noise. Visual elements, like notes in music or words in a sentence, are associative in application. It is in this context that the basic principles of perception – organization and meaning – become operational.

GESTALT Early Gestalt psychologists formulated laws or principles related to the organization of visual fields: Proximity – Things close together unite. Similarity – Things that resemble each other unite. Continuity – Perceptual organization tends to move in one direction Closure – The brain has an innate ability to close gaps in order to make things whole. Equilibrium – Balance and orientation are key to meaning. Assimilation – Past experiences create meaningful impressions.

GESTALT Proximity Visual elements that are close together unite and are easily seen as a figure. Elements that are near to one another join together to form patterns or “groupings, ” figures against the ground.

GESTALT Proximity AFTER THE SWIM, 2004, MARJON B. The horses in this photo appear to be in two groups.

GESTALT Similarity Visual elements that resemble one another, whether in size, shape, or color, unite to form a homogeneous group and are seen as a figure. How many groups do you see?

GESTALT Similarity BIRDS OF DIFFERENT FEATHERS, 2004, HUUB LINTHORST Our eye picks out the white geese from the black and our brain treats them as a group.

GESTALT Continuity Perceptual organization tends to flow in one direction. We have no difficulty following the path of any single line or contour even through a maze of many overlapping lines. Modern psychologists believe that the orientation, or slope of lines is a major factor of similarity. How many lines do you see?

GESTALT Continuity YELLOW BICYCLES, 2004, STEPHEN NUNNEY This photograph succeeds because of the principle of continuity.

GESTALT Closure We possess an innate tendency to perceive multiple elements as a group or totality. If it can find evidence of continuation, our brain will connect disjointed edges, contours or masses. Closure is a confirmation by the brain of a preexisting idea. When we can achieve it, we are psychologically rewarded. Do you see two circles?

GESTALT Closure Although partially obscured by the plant stem, we perceive this anole as a whole figure.

GESTALT Equilibrium is a principle which states that figures tend to assume their most regular form. The brain expects occluded objects to appear the same as their non-occluded counterparts. Are the blue and red objects overlapping? Are the figures more like those in a or in b?

GESTALT Equilibrium IN PAIR, 2004, MARCELL PAÅL We know the rear swan is just as complete as the one in front.

GESTALT Assimilation is the process by which a meaningful impression is obtained from a vast storehouse of past experience and knowledge. It is responsible for a characteristic psychologists call isomorphic correspondence, such as when we recoil at the sight of a child about to touch a hot stove. Which pattern at left holds more meaning?

GESTALT Assimilation You are probably familiar with the item in this image and recognize it immediately.

GESTALT Summary: Gestalt: The Visual Language Gestalt principles examine the ways our brain organizes parts of the visual field into figures and grounds. Gestalt theory proposes that patterns and groups are the fundamental elements of perception. Gestalt psychology unifies the concept of wholeness with ideas of form, shape and pattern. These concepts have provided a reliable psychological basis for spatial organization and visual communications.

In Part I we saw how the brain has evolved neural processes which enhance the perception of objects in the visual field. Honed over hundreds of thousands of years, these processes have helped to ensure our very survival. In Part II we visited the concept of aesthetics and its relationship to the golden section and Phi, a number intimately entwined with nature. And in Part III we explored the philosophy of Gestalt which seeks to employ the science of perception and the concept of aesthetics in the language of visual communication. Thank You Ted Froberg

More on The Web: I Perception Visual Perception Optical Illusions M. C. Escher II Aesthetics Golden Section Fibonacci Numbers in Nature Leonardo Fibonacci III Gestalt Principles of Perception Gestalt Principles in Design Home Thank You Ted Froberg