USING THE PRINCIPLES OF GESTALT TO DESIGN
With roots in the 1890s, Gestalt theory as a branch of psychology originated in Germany in the 1920s. Gestalt theory says humans group things (sounds, visual stimuli, feelings) together into a whole unit. For designers and artists this means that while a composition has individual parts that can be studied and analyzed as distinct components, the whole of a composition is different and frequently more important than the individual parts. It is especially important for designers to remember that visual elements in any visual communication work together and should reinforce one another as a means of communicating the whole idea or message.
Gestalt makes use of: SHAPE, LINE, BALANCE, RHYTHM
Gestalt makes use of: SHAPE, LINE, BALANCE, RHYTHM
DESIGN CHALLENGE: THE BLACK SQUARES PROBLEM
DUE MARCH 8TH
SCENARIO - Graphic design must often communicate emotions, feelings, or actions without the use of written language, relying solely on images and visual elements and their careful arrangement. This activity is intended to help students begin to develop visual literacy skills by applying the Gestalt principles and 2D shapes to a common visual communication challenge:
expressing a complex idea without the use of words
OBJECTIVE: To use Gestalt and other visual principles to make the most of a limited set of tools to express emotion or action in a composition.
expressing a complex idea without the use of words
OBJECTIVE: To use Gestalt and other visual principles to make the most of a limited set of tools to express emotion or action in a composition.
STEPS PART 1: ANALOG
STEPS PART 2: DIGITAL
MARKS FOR DESIGN CHALLENGE: /18
This lesson is adapted from: https://www.aiga.org/graphic-design-training-curriculum-for-high-school-teacher
- In the boxes on the white paper provided, draw 5 squares per box to express the following words:
- For this assignment, the squares should not overlap or leave the compositional space (the page).
STEPS PART 2: DIGITAL
- You will now replicate this assignment using Photoshop with new words to express.
- You can choose 6 words from this list: DOMINANCE, MOVEMENT, ALIENATED, SURPRISE, ACCEPTANCE, UPBEAT, MELANCHOLY, CONTRAST, DISORDER, STABILITY, JUSTICE, RAGE, PRESSURE, TRANQUILITY, HARMONY
- Create a NEW document in Photoshop, 11x17 inches
- Create 6 boxes with no FILL and a thin black STROKE; boxes should be 4x4 inches each
- You can ONLY USE UP TO 8 BLACK SQUARES PER BOX!
- You may play with the SIZE of each square as well as the OPACITY (but no colour).
- Use the TEXT tool to label each one of your boxes with the appropriate word
- Save as PSD and JPG, only hand in the JPG to Student Resources --> STEVENS hand-in
MARKS FOR DESIGN CHALLENGE: /18
This lesson is adapted from: https://www.aiga.org/graphic-design-training-curriculum-for-high-school-teacher
