Gestalt Theory In Jewellery Design:

Gestalt (translated as Unifed Whole) is a theory in which a group German scientists believed that the mind has self organising tendencies, especially when it comes to visual stimuli, meaning our mind automatically fills in the gaps, or brings lines together into something we comprehend or can make sense out of. These theories attempt to describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied.

They are broken down into 6 principles:

• Symmetry
• Closure
• Figure & Ground
• Proximity
• Similarity
• Continuity

Each of these principles breaks down how the human mind comprehends items through looking at something. It seems almost to be something done in the subconscious as we as human beings look upon everything in the same way. We don't look at something in a pattern and describe it huge amounts of detail, we look upon an item and if something is grouped together we would try and give it shape (without even thinking about it)

Gestalt principes are the biggest tool in the designing world, they can be used for all aspects of design, be it jewellery, advertising, signage, etc. Each principle can be used in unison with each other to create a better layout!


You'll see in my examples that sometimes, an image/example can display more than one Gestalt theory. This can be overwhelming to try and figure out sometimes, but the more and more I look at items of inspiration, it now comes to me...how bigger part these elements are in design....Its brilliant!!!

Below is examples of the Gestalt principles in both general design and jewellery design, and how its been used and can still be used in design today.