I believe everyone has heard of Gestalt Psychology. Gestalt comes from German "Gestalt", which means "whole" and "gestalt".
In short, Gestalt psychology is that study of the work principle of human vision. This study holds that human vision is a whole, and everything seen by the eyes is processed by the brain as a whole, so we perceive things as a whole rather than a single element.
Among them, there are several most important gestalt principles: proximity principle; Principle of similarity; Principle of continuity; Closed principle; Symmetry principle; Subject/background principle. In this paper, we focus on the first three, which are also the most widely used and basic in the layout.
1. 1 proximity and information correlation
What is the principle of proximity? In other words, our vision will treat elements close to each other as a whole. Therefore, in typesetting, we can distinguish different information sets by making related elements close to each other and irrelevant elements away from each other.
There are many ways to establish different combinations, but the principle of proximity is the most basic and important. Even if the color and shape of each element are different, as long as they are close to each other, they can form a group visually.
For example, many elements of Unilever LOGO are close to each other, and we can easily recognize the outline "U".
So how is the proximity principle applied in the layout? In fact, it is the process of making relevant information close to each other and irrelevant information away from each other.
In the case of this famous saying, the distance between the title and the content is exactly the same, and we will doubt which title corresponds to which text to a great extent. What happens if we deal with the proximity principle?
When we put the corresponding famous sayings near each other and the irrelevant famous sayings far away from each other, the dyslexia does not exist, and it is obvious who said that sentence.
The proximity principle can handle not only titles and words, but also various elements.
In this case, the picture is too far away from the text and lacks a sense of connection. And the pictures are too close and the combination is not clear. The proximity is not done well, which causes the problem that the picture is scattered as a whole.
When we use the proximity principle to combine related graphic information, the layout is easier to read, and there will be no mistakes in which person corresponds to which name.
Let's take a look at this set of information again. We need to use the following information to make Chinese and English business cards. The first thing to do is to deal with the proximity principle, and divide the name, position, English name, contact information and address into different combinations through the proximity principle.
On the right, it is easier to read after being processed by the proximity principle, and it is obvious which message says what. The rest we just need to choose the appropriate font for the divided combination and arrange it in the layout of the business card.
By making good use of the proximity principle, we can constantly try the positions of grouped elements in the layout, and ensure the balance of the layout while ensuring the distance of each group.
Using the principle of proximity, we can constantly adjust the position and form a new layout.
1.2 Similarity and Layout Unity
Proximity principle emphasizes the influence of location on our vision, while similarity principle emphasizes the influence of visual elements, such as color, shape, size, direction and so on. If other factors are the same, only these contents are different, then our vision will regard similar contents as a whole.
Elements with similar colors or shapes will form a visual unit in the same set of graphics.
Similarly, elements with similar size or direction in a group of graphics will form a visual unit.
How does the principle of similarity apply to layout design?
First of all, the similarity principle can be used to coordinate the disharmonious factors.
The colors of the three pictures are different, and the forced combination is not harmonious in layout.
It will be more harmonious to treat the tone into a unified layout.
Different digital expressions make the layout messy.
After the digital features are similar, the overall style is more unified, and the layout has no sense of clutter.
The principle of similarity can not only deal with the layout harmoniously, but also highlight the key elements.
We just need to remove similar features from the elements we want to highlight, so that they are different from other similar elements.
In this example, different colors are used to distinguish completed, incomplete and in-process processes. The color of "Completed" steps is the same; The colors between "unfinished" are also consistent, which is a prominent application of the similarity principle.
1.3 Continuity principle and visual logic
Our vision is easier to perceive continuous things and make them a whole.
Although the points in the above picture are dotted lines, we can still recognize their geometric shapes.
There are many LOGO shapes that also use continuity, such as IBM.
We can also recognize the contents of the separated pictures, which also shows that the vision is continuous.
Continuity is generally used to solve the problems of scattered elements and visual logic in typesetting design.
To solve this problem, we can add other elements to establish continuity.
Through the interlude of lines, our vision is well guided and the problem of reading in what order is solved. In addition, lines connect four points into a whole, and there is continuity between points, so the problem of scattering has been well solved.
The direction of lines will also have a great influence on our reading order.
Let's test how to use the principle of continuity to establish a sense of connection between scattered years and dates in the above picture. It is required that the distance between them cannot be changed.
All right, time's up. Let's see the answer.
In addition, our visual flow direction will also be affected by the direction of sight in the picture.
We're going to put the big cat in the photo now. Where can we put it to attract people's attention?
Although it feels good to put it here, if the words are smaller and the picture is darker, the audience will easily miss this information.
Putting the "big cat" on the extension line of the cat's eye will make people notice it easily.
Second, the exquisite material.
The exquisite degree of materials also has a great influence on the quality of the layout. The exquisiteness of materials is mainly reflected in three aspects, namely, clarity, fit and expressiveness.
2. 1 clarity
Needless to say, clarity will directly affect the quality of our works. If this kind of material is not clear enough, the typesetting will be destroyed by the material. Switch to clear enough material, and the picture will be much more refined.
2.2 Fit
Fit is the degree of correlation between the material and the theme. If you find a picture of food for a sport theme, it doesn't matter. It must be wrong.
The case text on the left of the above picture is a dog, while the material picture is a leopard, so it is a typical case of insufficient fit.
It is also a poster for calligraphy training. The one on the left uses too many irrelevant elements, such as temples, bamboo, mountains and rivers, etc. , and the theme is not enough. The case on the right only uses the materials of calligraphy strokes, but the fit and expressiveness are much better than those on the left. In addition, in terms of proximity and continuity, the arrangement of characters on the right is much better than that on the left.
3.3 Expressiveness
There are many forms of expressive force, such as creativity, excellent light and shadow, strong sense of hierarchy and so on.
For example, we are looking for a dancer's material, and the one on the left below is not expressive enough.
The material on the left is general, and the modeling, creativity and aesthetic feeling are not satisfactory, and the lack of infectious natural expression is not enough. Compared with the light and beauty of the material on the right, the expressive force will be much stronger.
The above two cases are also very expressive materials. When we do typesetting, if we want to use materials, we must use expressive materials, so that the works will be more beautiful and have a sense of design.
Third, the importance of font selection
Font is very important in our design, and it can even rise to the height of design soul. Whether the font selection is correct or not has a decisive influence on the layout.
Before we talk about fonts, let's look at a case.
This poster of life science looks strange. What's so strange about it? In fact, it is a problem of improper font application. In the case list, serif and song typeface are used, and they are all traditional fonts, which can not express the sense of rigor of life science and the sense of science and technology of modern medicine.
Isn't it much more pleasing to the eye that we change the font to sans serif and bold? The sans serif is more modern and conforms to the theme to be expressed.
This shows that choosing the wrong font can easily ruin your work. To choose a suitable font, we must first have a certain understanding of the rhythm of the font, and then focus on understanding the different rhythms of serif, sans serif, boldface and Songti.
3. 1 serif and typeface
Serif, that is, fonts with serif decorative features; Song style, that is, a font with triangular decorative features at stroke changes and turning points; Generally, serif and song style have traditional temperament, which can show a certain sense of culture and history and a strong sense of humanity.
The serif can also be divided into traditional and modern types in detail, mainly depending on the contrast and simplicity of its horizontal and vertical strokes.
The contrast between the thickness of the traditional serif on the left side is relatively small, and the serif is round and complicated, and the connection of the serif is round; The contrast of modern serif thickness on the right is very different, and the connection of serif is right-angled, simple and direct.
The representatives of traditional serif are Garamond, Caslon, etc. Their traditional temperament is very strong, which is suitable for conveying traditional, literary and humanistic temperament and sense of story.
After talking about the traditional, let's talk about the modern.
The representatives of modern linings are Didot, Bodoni, Walbaum, etc. They have a strong sense of modernity while retaining the serif, and the thickness contrast is relatively large, which can convey elegance, femininity, high-end and fashionable temperament, so many fashion magazines and women's products choose this type of font.
Since serif is divided into traditional serif and modern serif, so is Song Ti. According to the complexity of the decorative triangle of Song Dynasty, it can be divided into traditional Song Dynasty and modern Song Dynasty.
The commonly used traditional music styles include founder songs, Shu songs, Bao songs, Chao songs and Wang Ming songs. Commonly used modern genres include Founder Song Ya Series, Philip Burkart Style, Otsuka Ming, etc.
There are also differences in temperament conveyed by traditional and modern song styles. Traditional genre can better express literary sense, story and humanity; Modern song styles tend to convey women's sense of elegance and fashion.
After introducing the similarities and differences between Song and serif, let's talk about how they should be mixed and matched.
The collocation principle is actually not difficult, and the summary is one sentence.
With this collocation principle, let's look at the following case.
The first group of collocation is Fangzheng Yage and his own English, which obviously does not match; The second group is Fangzheng Yage +Garamond, and the modern style with traditional serif is neither fish nor fowl nor harmonious. The third group is modern Song style and modern serif Didot, so it is very harmonious.
This group is the same, only the third group of traditional song style+traditional serif is the most harmonious. Although the English of the first group can barely be divided into traditional serif, its stroke characteristics are completely different from those of Chinese and foreign countries, so it is difficult to match.
Therefore, not only the temperament should be matched, but also the stroke characteristics should be similar.
3.2 No serif and black body
Sans serif, that is, fonts without serif decoration. Bold is also a font without triangular decorative features. Compared with serif and song style, it is more simple and modern, and can express the characteristics of rationality and neatness.
According to the structural relationship of its letters, sans serif can be divided into three types: conventional, humanistic and geometric.
Among them, the conventional sans-serif is the most common and common, which can be said to be the least personalized; The width of the strokes of the humanistic sans-serif style is different, but it has undergone a transitional change, and the notches of letters such as S and C are also wider, giving people a beautiful and elegant feeling, and at the same time having a little literary temperament; Geometric sans-serif is more like geometric figures, giving people a simple, fashionable and modern feeling.
Common conventional sans-serif bodies are Helvetica, Univers, DIN, etc. They give people the impression that they are modern, rational and rigorous, and at the same time they are the least individual.
Because there is no special personality, fonts are very inclusive. There is a saying: When you don't know what font to use, use Helvetica. This shows its wide range of uses.
The representatives of sans serif of humanism are Gill Sans, Optima, Stone Sans, etc. Humanistic sans serif gives people the feeling that rationality and sensibility coexist, and it is a font with high temperature. They can also convey elegance, beauty and humanity.
The representative geometric sans-serif fonts are Ftura, Avalon, Avant Garded, etc. This font has a strong sense of geometry and looks very modern and high-end.
Compared with sans serif, the classification of blackbody is relatively simple, and it can only be divided into conventional blackbody and humanistic blackbody according to the principle of whether there is a bell mouth or not. The black body without bell mouth is conventional, and the black body with bell mouth is humanistic.
Common conventional blackbodies include Siyuan blackbody, Microsoft Yahei, Hanyiqi black, Fangzheng Lanting black and so on. Common humanistic black body includes default black body and Holly black body.
The collocation of bold and sans serif is simpler than that of serif and song typeface. Just choose exquisite fonts and unify the word weight and stroke form.