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Published in Robert B. Pinter, Bahram Nabet, Nonlinear Vision: Determination of Neural Receptive Fields, Function, and Networks, 1992
An important stage in the perception and recognition of objects is the process whereby a figure, or object, in a scene is separated from other figures and background clutter. This is called the stage of figure-ground separation. Whereas knowledge about a figure may facilitate its separation, such knowledge is clearly not necessary for biological vision systems to carry out figure-ground separation. Experiences abound of unfamiliar figures that “pop out” from their backgrounds before they ever enter our corpus of learned knowledge about the world. The fact that figure-ground separation can occur even for unfamiliar figures contributes to the general-purpose nature of biological vision, which can process both unfamiliar and familiar scenes, and does not require prior instruction about an environment in order to operate effectively.
Cartographic Design
Published in Terry A. Slocum, Robert B. McMaster, Fritz C. Kessler, Hugh H. Howard, Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization, 2022
Terry A. Slocum, Robert B. McMaster, Fritz C. Kessler, Hugh H. Howard
Both cartographic design and graphic design incorporate Gestalt principles of perceptual organization. Gestalt is a theory of visual perception developed in the 1920s that attempts to describe the manner in which humans see the individual components of a graphical image and then organize the components into a unified whole. These principles represent the theoretical underpinning for many cartographic design rules, guidelines, and conventions (MacEachren 1995). Closure allows us to complete an image even when parts are missing, as illustrated in Figure 13.3A. The administrative boundary is seen as a complete polygon as opposed to individual dashes. Common fate allows us to group elements that share the same moving direction, as illustrated by the tornado path arrows in Figure 13.3B. Continuity allows us to move our eyes from one object to another. In Figure 13.3C, our eyes “continue” the river, even though it is broken by the text label. Figure-ground allows us to perceive certain objects as being closer to us than other objects and, therefore, more important. In Figure 13.3D, New Zealand acts as a figure to the Pacific Ocean, which acts as ground. Simultaneously, the city of Wellington acts as a figure to New Zealand. Figure-ground is described further in Section 13.3.4. Proximity allows us to view objects that are close together as a group, as illustrated by the cluster of coyote sightings in Figure 13.3E. Similarity allows us to group objects that are similar in size, shape, color, etc., as illustrated by the brown land cover areas in Figure 13.3F. Smallness, or Area, allows us to view smaller areas as figures and larger areas as ground. This is illustrated in Figure 13.3G by the relatively small Hawaiian Islands in the context of a larger study area. Symmetry allows us to view symmetrical objects as whole figures that form around their centers (as opposed to individual marks), as illustrated by the point symbols in Figure 13.3H. These symbols are symmetrical because each can be bisected into two identical halves. This symmetry helps us to group the individual components of each point symbol into a unified whole.
Find and Understand Your Users
Published in Andrew Mara, UX on the Go, 2020
Although usability doesn’t typically depend upon highly stylized visual design, it can be critical to note how the visual design adheres to Gestalt Principles. Using Rock and Palmer’s summary of Gestalt visual principles,7 a UX Researcher conducting a Usability Heuristic Audit (or other researcher-centered evaluation of an interface) would apply five principles as lenses to evaluate the interface. These principles include: Figure-Ground relationship (or contrast). There should be a clear delineation of the difference between the focus of the interaction (the figure) and the background or context of that interaction (the ground). If there is confusion between what the affordance to initiate or evaluate the action should be because it is indistinguishable from its context, then this is a problem.Proximity. This measures if like things are grouped together. Human perception tends to characterize items that are close together as more alike. If this is functionally or conceptually untrue, users might become confused.Continuity. People tend to see items that are aligned as part of a whole, rather than separating them. The use of alignment between related items can draw users’ eyes and help users understand their connection. If the aligned items are not conceptually similar, this can be a problem, as the user may assume that these items function similarly, or are otherwise connected.Closure. Similar to continuity, closure involves users connecting or completing what might be perceived as gaps in a figure or an image. By completing the gaps, the user will assume a coherent unity or totality in a figure. If this unity is not intended, then clearer separation, increased gaps, or other forms of contrast should be established.Similarity. Distinct items that resemble each other in size, shape, color, or other similarity will have an assumed commonality. Like proximity, this perceptual grouping will lead users to assume a set of shared similarities in function or concept. While visual similarity can look cleaner, it can also create confusion of use.
The effect of online teaching on basic design studio in the time of COVID-19: an application of the technology acceptance model
Published in Architectural Science Review, 2022
Rawan T. Abu Alatta, Hind M. Momani, Asma’ M. Bataineh
Generally, the students got lower grades in the spatial aspects of the designs, both from the ‘in to out’ and the ‘in to in’ aspects of their designs, with an average grade of 71.5. A review of the grades of the 17 projects under evaluation uncovers that the students had the lowest grades in the case of external closures (68) and in the degree of similarity with, and proximity to, the in and out (70). However, both in the visual perception principles of ‘figure-ground relationship’ and ‘visual continuity and connectivity’, the students’ average grade was 72. Furthermore, the evaluation results disclose that the students had good abilities in solving the problems associated with the online design tasks, with an average ‘problem solving’ grade of 74. A summary of the evaluations of the panel of experts is displayed in Figure 9(A,B).