Our class recently spent some time studying one of my favorite concepts to teach, Gestalt theory. Gestalt theory refers to the brain’s need to make sense of the world around it. Our brains make visual connections every day that we just take for granted. By studying Gestalt theory and the five principles of Gestalt, students can understand how to use those connections to strengthen their designs.

We studied the five Gestalt principles of closure, proximity, similarity, continuation, and figure and ground. I then asked the students to design a black and white graphic that used at least one of the principles. The graphic should also use an animal as the subject matter.

The Five Principles of Gestalt

Let’s examine the five Gestalt principles and then look at how the students used them in their designs. If you’re new to Gestalt theory, or just need a refresher, read through the infographic below to learn about the five principles of Gestalt.

After reviewing the Gestalt principles, you can start to see how the students used them to create their animal graphics. The work below actually demonstrates all of the Gestalt principles. You can see closure in the space between the squid and the whale. You can see continuation in the squid legs. The squid legs are also similar in shape, using the principle of similarity. The proximity of the black circle allows us to identify them as the squid’s eyes. Finally, the student used figure and ground by using the squid’s ink to define the outline of the squid’s body.

The tiger graphic below demonstrates the gestalt principles of closure in between the stripes. The stripes also demonstrate similarity. Obviously, the proximity of the shapes allows us to see the tiger. We also see figure and ground being used because the negative space between the stripes makes up the tiger’s body.

In the eagle graphic we can see figure and ground in the head that is made out of the negative space. We can also see closure and proximity working together as we close the gaps from the body through the beak to mentally construct the head.

We can see similarity and proximity in the trees of the graphic below. Figure and ground is also evident because the bird’s body is made up of the night sky. We have to use closure as well to bridge the gaps between the trees and mentally construct the bird’s body.

Finally, the graphic below shows similarity in the similar shapes on the feathers. It shows proximity in the placement of those shapes and closure where we have to visually close the gaps to make the plumes of the peacock. You could also see figure and ground because the negative space is being used to create the feathers of the peacock.

Gestalt theory can be found in a variety of works from logo design to photography and even sculpture. If you make art, try to incorporate the Gestalt principles into your work from time to time. It’s a fun challenge and it will give you one more tool that can use to strengthen your work as a designer or artist.

If you create any Gestalt-related designs or artwork, we’d love to see them. Feel free to share in the comments below.