Gestalt principles similarity magazine3/21/2024 It’s the direction in which we think an element should be moving if it were given a chance to move according to the forces acting on it. This is the perceived direction of a visual force. It’s a measure of how much anything on the page attracts the eye of the viewer. This is the perceived weight of a visual element. The direction in which the physical weight acts is replaced by visual direction.Īs a reminder, below are definitions for visual weight and visual direction, although I’ll refer you back to the fourth post in this series for more details. Physical weight is replaced by visual weight. I’ll trust you’ve been on a seesaw before or at least watched others play on one and that you have a pretty good sense of what’s going on. Here, the force of the larger person is reduced by being closer to the fulcrum on which the seesaw balances. However, if the larger person slid in toward the center, then the seesaw would be balanced again. The clockwise force should be much greater, and the seesaw should be touching the ground on the right. This image doesn’t feel right because we know the person on the left isn’t big enough to balance the person on the right. If one of the people was much bigger, though, the balance would be thrown off. The force of each person acts in a different direction, and their sum is zero. ![]() The person on the left makes the seesaw rotate counterclockwise, and the person on the right makes it rotate clockwise by an equal amount. The following image appears to be in balance, with two equally sized people equally distant from the fulcrum on which the seesaw balances. You’ve probably been on a seesaw or a teeter-totter at some time in your life - you on one side and a friend on the other.Īssuming you were both about the same size, you were able to easily balance on the seesaw. When something is unbalanced, it tends to fall over. "Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony."īalance is easy to understand in the physical world, because we experience it all the time. Design Principles: Compositional Flow and Rhythm.Design Principles: Dominance, Focal Points and Hierarchy.Design Principles: Visual Weight and Visual Direction.Design Principles: Connecting and Separating.Design Principles: Space and the Figure-Ground Relationship.Design Principles: Visual Perception and the Principles of Gestalt.Note: This is the seventh and final post in a series on design principles. In some projects, unbalanced might be right for the message you’re trying to communicate, but generally you want balanced compositions. When a design is unbalanced, the individual elements dominate the whole and the composition becomes less than the sum of its parts. The individual parts contribute to their sum but don’t try to become the sum.Īn unbalanced composition can lead to tension. Everything works together and fits together in a seamless whole. While some of its elements might be focal points and attract your eye, no one area of the composition draws your eye so much that you can’t see the other areas.īalancing a composition involves arranging both positive elements and negative space in such a way that no one area of the design overpowers other areas. It feels stable and aesthetically pleasing. You don’t need to follow any of these principles, although you should understand them and have a reason for breaking them.Ī balanced composition feels right. There’s no one right way to communicate that two elements are similar or different, for example. ![]() However, design principles aren’t hard and fast rules. An unbalanced composition can lead to tension. The individual parts contribute to their sum but don’t try to become the sum. Balancing a composition involves arranging both positive elements and negative space in such a way that no one area of the design overpowers other areas.
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