Gestalt

Definitions of Gestalt:

1) “The study of gestalt originated in Germany in the 1920s. It is a form of psychology that is interested in higher order cognitive processes relative to behaviorism. The aspects of gestalt theory that interests designers are related to gestalt’s investigations of visual perception, principally the relationship between the parts and the whole of visual experience.”

-http://daphne.palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html

2) “Gestalt psychology of gestaltism (German: Gestalt – “shape” or “figure”) of the Berlin School is a theory of mind and brain positing that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies, or that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves. In psychology, gestaltism is often opposed to structuralism and Wundt. “

-http://www.scribd.com/doc/19252004/Gestalt-Psychology-or-Gestaltism

3) “Gestalt is also known as the “Law of Simplicity” or the “Law of Pragnanz” (the entire figure or configuration), which states that every stimulus is perceived in its most simple form.”

-http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

My Gestalt Images:

Above: A row of martini glasses or houses.

Above:Two birds and nest or a mustache and mouth.

Above: Gestalt – “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

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