Design Principles: Visual Perception and the Principles of Gestalt
Steven Bradley
beginnerFree30 minSmashing Magazine
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One free read that gives you the single most useful mental model in visual design: the eye groups things automatically, and you can control that grouping. After this you will start seeing why some layouts feel organized and others feel like noise. Pair it with the Gestalt spread in Universal Principles of Design.
What you will learn
- The core Gestalt grouping principles
- How perception shapes reading of a layout
How to study it
- Read it once, then state the single core claim in your own words without looking. If you cannot, you did not read it closely enough yet.
- Note one thing you will change in your own work because of it. An article that changes nothing was entertainment, not study.
- Revisit it once a week later; the second pass with a gap is where it sticks.