Tip #37: Gestalt—Closure

Closure is a little more tricky to explain, but basically, the figure can sometimes relate to the ground in ways that implies other objects. In other words, your mind can connect dots to create new images. The examples below all …

Tip #35: Gestalt—Good continuation

When figures create a pattern, we more easily understand and interpret them. In the example below, you can see the same data proposed in two different orders. The order on the left creates no clear patter, so your brain struggles …

Tip #34: Gestalt—Uniform connectedness

When objects are physically connected or are enclosed in a shape, we perceive them as being in a group. All of these must seem so obvious, but look at the examples below. You can see that logically there is nothing …

Tip #33: Gestalt—Proximity

When objects are closer together, we automatically perceive them as being in a group. Again, that sounds obvious, but it’s pretty interesting how it works. For example, proximity actually often trumps similarity. In the lefthand example below, you see a …

Tip #32: Gestalt—Similarity

When objects look like each other, people perceive them as having a meaningful connection. I.e. if things look the same, people interpret them as being in a group together. This might seem like… duh. But in all reality, when you …