when looking at this what's the first thing you see do you see a bicycle or do you see handlebars pedals spokes tires brakes a seat and a frame if you're human I'm guessing you saw a bike this idea that we make sense of things by seeing a whole rather than the individual parts is called Gestalt psychology and its principles are especially important for designers and creating complete and compelling visuals because of psychologists max Wertheimer Kurt Kafka and Wolfgang köhler Gestalt theory can be broken down into six design principles figure-ground the thought that when we look at a scene we separate objects so that some of the focus or figure and others of the background similarity the notion that we place objects with similar characteristics in a group these characteristics can include color size font shape texture and more proximity the belief that we group together objects that are close to each other closure the idea that our minds close objects that are not necessarily together or complete in order to create a whole continuity the theory that we continue to follow objects that are visually aligned until they are interrupted order the belief that alignment and symmetry are attractive and essential elements of design when your Stoke principles are ignored designs tend to look out of place or incomplete forcing our eyes to focus on little inconsistencies rather than the greater whole you may not know exactly what seems off but you will feel something is out of place the best designs unintentionally make the world feel a little less chaotic