Gestalt in 4 Properties in Web Design

1. Emergence

When trying to identify an object, we (humans) first attempt to identify the object’s outline, and then match it to outlines we already know. It’s only after this outline pattern identification that we start to notice the details of an object, the parts as separate from the whole.

This is usually put into practice when looking at the site container and any promo or widget containers. It’s important to know what kind of complexity you have created. If there isn’t enough in your design, maybe your work can be seen as boring or too simple. People tend to dismiss things that are too simple. Several times a day I talk about the complexity of the container structures of the sites we build.

2. Reflection

Because visual stimuli is so inconsistent, our brains are wired to “fill in the gaps” when information is missing. This allows us to comprehend visuals even when they’re vague or limited.

Related to chunking in some ways. It revolves around groups of content and relating things with similar meaning by proximity. More closely related to the negative space and what meaning that holds. We fill the gaps with past experiences trying to make them more rich. This must be helped/tied to our ability to recognize patterns.

3. Multistability

If an object has more than one interpretation, the mind will alternate between the different interpretations since it can’t see both simultaneously. The longer a viewer focuses on one interpretation over the other, the more dominant that interpretation becomes.

This is a bit of a warning of what not to do in a website experience. Consider a user, confused on a page or in a step of a process. The longer someone stays in a state of confusion the more likely that someone perceives the whole experience in a similar way.

4. Invariance

Like Reification, invariance is another tactic our brains use to comprehend visuals despite glaring inconsistencies. Invariance shows that we recognize outlines and patterns of objects despite differences in perspective, rotation, scale, or even slight deformations.

Consider how we use a new website. How do we know where the menu is? How do we use a form? Although the site designs are all different we still know how to use it. Although there would be differences between websites the users keep using buttons, shopping carts, forms and profiles.