2/8 Gestalt

Unit 8: Gestalt Principles Applied

Source: Jane Halonen. The Critical Thinking Companion. Worth Publishers. 1995.

Objective:  Practical Application of 5 Gestalt Principles

            After completing this exercise, you should be able to:

• Recognize that perceptual images can be analyzed into specific design principles.
• Apply Gestalt principles to perceptual stimuli.
• Identify other group performances that illustrate Gestalt principles
• Speculate about how the design principles work in sensory modes other than vision.

Background Information:

Gestalt psychology offers principles of good form and rules for grouping stimuli. Typically these principles are illustrated using two-dimensional stimuli: lines, dots, images, etc. orchestrated to demonstrate specific effects. However, the Gestalt principles can also be seen in operation in three-dimensional, dynamic forms; as this exercise will illustrate.

Let's start with a group performance such as the work that might he performed by a marching band during the half-time activities in a football game (Think about the Superbowl performance). Recall some perfor­mance you have seen and try to think of it as a demonstration of Gestalt principles of good form and grouping.

Figure-ground. Marching in front of the hand and waving a baton, the drum major stands out from the rpm of the band, enhanced by more dramatic costuming and a central position in relation to the other band members.

Proximity. Certain band members may cluster together, particularly when their assignment is to create a visual impart distinct from the rest of the band. The mini­mal distance maintained within the cluster enhances the crowd's perception that this subgroup is a unit by itself. This principle is apparent when band members must form a particular letter of the alphabet or some other visual design; their proximity helps us to perceive that design as distinct from the activities of the other subgroups on the field,

Similarity: Band uniforms, musical instruments, and choreographed marching enhance our perception of the band as a group or as subdivisions that form mean­ingful smaller groups.

Continuity/connectedness. As band members break into smaller marching groups to develop a distinctive formation, their movements relative to each other and to members of other groups will cause the crowd to perceive them as subgroups. For example, the horn section, moving clockwise in a circle, will be perceived as a whole group because their movements cause them to appear to be connected with one another. In contrast, the drum section, moving counterclockwise, will be per­ceived as a separate group.

Closure. When the music and movement stop, we see the performance as a complet­ed experience.

Now it's your turn.

Apply the design principles to either a football game or a ballet performance (or an instructor approved activity)

Selected performance:  ____________________________________________            

Figure-ground 

Proximity

Similarity                          

Closure                     

Continuity/connectedness: