Using Gestalt Principles for your Data Visualizations

In creating data visualizations, our main goals are to help the viewer see, understand, and make better decisions about the data presented. In doing so, we can take into consideration certain elements such as pre-attentive attributes, data ink ratio, and the gestalt principles. In this blog, we will take a look at the latter and see how we can utilize them in our data visualizations.

What are the Gestalt Principles?

The Gestalt Principles are principles that describe how we interpret or perceive complex stimuli around us. The principles that we will be talking about are proximity, similarity, closure, enclosure, and continuity.

We will use this grid to demonstrate our principles.

Principle of Proximity

This principle implies that elements closer together are perceived as belonging to a group or are more related to one another compared to elements farther apart.

We can see two distinct groups of circles because of the increased spacing in the middle.

Principle of Similarity

This principle refers to grouping elements by a similar trait or characteristic. This can include color, size, shape, or orientation. Similar traits can be used to tie together elements that might not be close together within a design.

Here, we have a group of red, blue, and yellow circles within the grid.

And again but grouped by shapes. In both instances, we assume that the similar elements are related.

Principle of Enclosure

This principle states that elements enclosed, whether by a border or within a distinct region, are grouped together.

Within our original grid, we can see that six circles have been grouped together.

Principle of Closure

This principle refers to our minds natural tendency to fill in the blank when an object may have a gap or appears incomplete.

Naturally, we want to close the gaps and imagine something like the below image.

Principle of Continuity

This principle states that points perceived on a straight or curved line are closely related.

Even though the colors indicate two angles, we are drawn to the two intersecting lines.

Considering these principles while designing your data visualization can greatly enhance its clarity, effectiveness, and impact, establishing a foundation for clear communication and effective storytelling.

Author:

Sid Saythongphet

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