As a child have you ever dreamt of becoming an artist just like me?

If you have achieved it, great! But if not, well, I am not trying to touch a nerve (Even I didn’t become one😁). I believe you can contribute to art by just delving deep into it. That’s what we are going to do today — Seeing design through the lens of your artistic glasses, analyzing how Gestalt principles are applied subconsciously by us and unraveling the human brain. The fields of design and psychology always work hand-in-hand no matter what the concept is. The process of perceiving a design can be quite subjective and personal as human mind works distinctively.

Well, I am going to take you through my journey of understanding and learning space through 100 compositions. Yes, you read it correct. A HUNDRED. If you don’t believe me, look at this image. You would be surprised to know how beautiful a design can be created with just one element.

Here I have used different materials for different elements and even different mediums i.e. Paper and Figma. I started sketching out ideas which came to my mid without comprehending much and then the perception came in. Before you start reading further keep this in mind that my perception might be different from yours and that’s okay. Human minds work differently and interpret the world in their own ways. That’s why -

“Art is considered to be a freedom of expression.”

Let’s start with compositions made on paper.

Light struck

You’re probably wondering what on earth is this? Well, according to me, the curvy line separates the land and the lake. The straight path makes a houseboat where people are sitting parallel to each other. The zig-zag lines can be a troop of soldiers walking alongside their king through a jungle. Now, if you rotate the design vertically, you can see a sub sandwich or a hot dog with vapor on the top. The wavy lines, straight lines and triangles look closer together and my mind quickly interpreted it as a wavy ruler like the one we used to have in our childhood.

That’s my perception but yours can be quite different from mine. This composition showcases Gestalt’s principles of human perception like proximity, similarity, common fate and continuity.

The circle of nutrition

The composition is quite simple yet distinctive. When I started this design, I had no idea where it would take me. If you look closely, you’ll see a mother’s womb and a zygote forming into an embryo. The nutrition is provided by the mother just like how we see in the real world. The 3 circles can be the top view of children who are fascinated by the big belly. Another scenario can be a top view of dinner table with people sitting around. The elements in the small circle are placed together, so they appear to be related. This composition showcases proximity, similarity, and focal point. What is your perception?

Geometric loops

One thing that’s peculiar about this composition is that I could perceive the art as a lollipop factory even if I rotate it vertically. The continuous loops placed at a certain distance from each other mesmerize you into believing that they are lollipops hanging upside down or the other way and moving in a direction to get processed further, thus creating a sense of motion. The elements attached to one another look like a lollipop machine when viewed as a whole.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. — Aristotle

The composition is made from loops of different shapes which really brings the whole piece together, thus, showcasing similarity, common fate, and continuity.

Spiraling center of the earth

The very first impression I got of this composition is that of a top view of some pyramids, preferably, in Jerusalem as the title suggests. The spirals in between can be considered bypassers. It can also be perceived as two space shuttles fighting in space with fire bolts. This composition reflects closure, proximity, similarity, and common fate and continuity.

Geometric triad

We humans have a natural instinct to stay away from sharp objects and as soon as we see one our fight-or-flight response kicks in and our brain sends us signals of fear and therefore, we feel afraid. I am sure looking at these sharp elements might have triggered this same feeling. To me, the above design can be a space-station which is being attacked by aliens. The concept also looks like a beautiful flower attracting butterflies toward it. Proximity, similarity, common fate, and continuity is showcased.

Next up are compositions made on Figma:

Twist, turn and bounce

Just like the title suggests, you have to twist some habits, turn around your old ways and bounce for any opportunity you get for a better future. The diagonal lines are arranged in a way that the all the lines together look like a rhomboid. The scattered rectangles together look like an insect crawling. Showcasing proximity, similarity, focal point and continuity.

Hypnotic puddles

Don’t worry, I am not trying to fool you with hypnosis. When I first started this design with just a leaf shaped element, I had no idea where it would lead me. I was amazed by the outcome of this design knowing that only a single element is used in different sizes. They are arranged in a kind of hierarchy and catches the eyes of the observer in just one second. To me, the design looks a road in one perspective filled with puddles. They also look like a group of spaceships in space. The same composition when rotated looks like frequency waves. The composition represents proximity, similarity, figure-ground, continuity, and common fate.

“When trying to make sense of the world, we do not simple focus on every small component. Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex systems.” — Gestalt

Parallel universe

I believe the design looks scary. What do you think? As soon as I created the design, my immediate instinct was fear. After I started analyzing the design, I thought of the big white circle also the focal point as a white bright sun who is trying to radiate its positive energy towards the giant black circle which I interpreted as a different face of the sun. This composition is a perfect example of focal point, proximity, similarity, common fate and continuity.

Out of the box

The composition might look similar to you if you’ve ever played pinball. Although it has some elements which are alike, my perception of it might not be. Apart from looking like a game, it also looks like someone standing in solitude. Usually, we consider people who are distinctive crazy as artists are often called. But here the arrows represent pressure from society that an individual has to bear. And there is 1 in a hundred chance that a unique person falls off who is free of such burdens. You’re probably wondering “Wow, that is not what I thought of.” This is my personal view. This composition includes almost every single principle of closure, proximity, similarity, common fate, focal point and continuity.

Creepy crawlies

I know the composition looks mystifying but isn’t art all about expression? You wouldn’t believe me when I say that this composition is made out of heptagons. Isn’t it remarkable how our mind can understand the use of space and elements to form compositions beyond our skillset and yet perceive them exclusively? The smaller elements are considered far from our sight, probably on the horizon. As per my understanding, the design can be deemed as space debris or germs in a stomach or t might also look like animated ladders.

These are the designs I created which helped me understand space and the unspoken or subconscious rules and how our mind interprets them. The Laws of Human perception may or may not overlap with each other. We all share certain characteristics in the way we perceive visual objects and have this natural ability of seeing “good” design even in complicated compositions. There is an exhilarating feeling in finding patterns and grouping similar elements and joining parts visually to make a whole which our mind is wired to do so.

Start looking for patterns in real life and you’ll see the world through different lens.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article :)

Warm regards,

Hiloni Shah