Law of continuity in Gestalt
f you’ve stopped to look at an advertisement on the street, you’ll have noticed that the logo usually has features that make it attractive. This is understandable, since the objective is to make the consumer intrigued to find out in more detail what the product being offered is about. For this, both the colors and the shapes and figures must have an impact on those who observe the material. In this article we will provide you information about Law of continuity Gestalt.
Those responsible for the design of these images know the personal aspects that are put into play when making a purchase and/or recalling a product. Furthermore, these same qualities are replicated in other areas of everyday life. In this sense, the mind is capable of interpreting facts according to each person’s perception. There is an area of psychology that deals precisely with the study of these mental processes in order to understand the human being in various dimensions.
More about Law of continuity in Gestalt
The law of continuity in Gestalt postulates that a form can be perceived from greater continuity . In other words, any form that is visible can be perceived if there is linearity. When a visual stimulus is presented, the mind tends to interpret it with a complete form of what appears as its starting point.
If the object is incomplete in its form, the law of continuity allows it to complete itself, given that it could continue with the pre-established format. It should be noted that the sociocultural context under which a person was formed plays a transcendental role in the perception of external stimuli. In other words, it is not possible to understand shapes and figures that have not been seen before.
How to use the Gestalt Law of Continuity
In general terms, it should be noted that the law of continuity is governed by some basic gestalt principles. Without them, it would not be possible to use them in several application areas. Next, we will discuss how to use the law of continuity in Gestalt:
- Directionality : each shape and/or element must have a concrete direction for the brain to interpret correctly. If we take as an example the image of a car that has the front part on the right side of the image, the directionality is related to the fact that each aspect that appears in the figure points to a common side. Otherwise the form would be confusing.
- Grouping : consists in the fact that the mind tends to group elements that appear disconnected from each other to achieve greater harmony within the image. This causes all the figures that may be within the same image to be seen as a whole instead of being perceived as separate parts.
In addition to these considerations, Gestalt psychology generally involves the study of forms as a whole unit rather than the sum of the parts. Other laws of the gestalt influence here, such as figure and background, law of closure , simplicity, law of similarity , law of proximity, symmetry, pregnancy or good shape, among others.
Examples of the Gestalt Law of Continuity
With the purpose of giving greater clarity about the law of continuity in Gestalt, it is interesting to clarify what has been explained so far through some everyday situations in which this principle is applied. In the following items, we will describe some examples of the law of continuity in Gestalt:
- Brand advertising : if you look at the logo of some advertising brands in detail, you can see that some forms appear incomplete. However, this is not a mistake made by graphic designers, but a marketing strategy to attract more customers within the market. An example of this quality is presented through the logo of the Adobe brand, which has the letter A incompletely. Through the law of Gestalt continuity in advertising, the brain usually continues the non-visible lines to complete the picture.
- Art : the artistic area is another means of expression in which aspects of this principle are overthrown. Some drawings and/or paintings are made taking into account the Gestalt continuity, as there is a tendency to fill in empty spaces. If one sees a panda with crisscrossed fingers, the grouping and directionality typical of this norm will cause the person to arm himself with the idea that the missing elements could be present.
