Gestalt’s Laws of Perception play an important role in our everyday lives. They allow our brains to make judgements and process information from very small visual cues. They are essential to help us survive on a primitive level, but they are also essential in our rapidly advancing world of technology. Many of the things we must perceive and make sense of are no longer tactile. They are presented on a screen, which has forced us to become fluent in 2D perception as well as 3D perception. Having access to virtually anything and everything online is great, but we have to realize that someone had to figure out how to give us the distinctions we need in the 2D format.

In reference to the first law, proximity, we have the need to group things that look close together. Knowing this, a web designer would be able to develop an efficient program for a user. For example, if you want to purchase a certain type of clothing(t-shirts) online. It would be easier for you to differentiate between a group of t-shirts than it would be for you to look t-shirts, pants, and shorts on the same page. Instead of paying full attention to things like different colors and styles, your brain would be trying to group all of the t-shirts together.

The second law that really comes into play in the 2D world is the common fate law. This is easier to describe in terms of video games. For example, in first person shooter games, the enemy usually can be seen on a map as red dots, all grouped together. Regardless of the red signifier they are given, your brain tells you that those dots all moving in a cluster in the same direction are a group of the same thing. Therefore, they are your target in the game.

The Gestalt Laws of Perception are essential to life. First, our world was 2D and everything we encountered were actual, tactile objects. But, in a new age of technology, and thanks to the brain’s ability to adapt to the body’s environment rather quickly, we are able to differentiate objects in a 2D world too. Additionally, knowing how the human brain perceives is essential to being a successful designer in a 2D realm.

References:

Banks, M. (2013, November 29). The importance of Gestalt laws for UX design planning. Retrieved January 28, 2018, from http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2013/11/29/importance-gestalt-laws-ux-design-planning