Gestalt applied to web design (Part 6): principle of past experience
March 22, 2008 5 comments
- Gestalt applied to web design (part 1): origin of the term, meaning and utility;
- Gestalt applied to web design (Part 2): the proximity principle;
- Gestalt applied to web design (Part 3): web examples of the proximity principle.
- Gestalt applied to web design (Part 4): principle of good continuity or principle of alignment.
- Gestalt applied to web design (Part 5): Web examples of the principle of alignment
- Gestalt applied to web design (Part 6): principle of past experience (current article)
In the last article in the series, presented some examples of the use of application of the principle of alignment in some web sites. In this article, I speak a little about the principle of past experience, or, as some prefer, principle of learning. Breaking a little style of the series, presenting the conceptual part of this law of Gestalt and some examples of once.
The principle of past experience refers, as the name suggests, the experience already acquired (in the past…) that the observer of determined work, play, play, web site, etc., and which has ways that may (or not can) help you interpret, and recognize "connect".
It is something very personal, subjective, since the experience is occurring peculiar and each person has their own viv ê references, stories and situations; mean, something observed can (and usually is) a different meaning from person to person due, among other things, on past experience.
Therefore, it is not complicated it is inferred from the process of linking ç ã what happens to interpretation: associate things / elements we already know in advance when faced with the new. Drawing me the words of Danilo Medeiros, digitalminds,
[...] If we see something with stem, branches and leaves us to imagine that a tree, if we see something with four legs late that we imagine to be a dog [...]
That's association! ;-)
And as part of a process of learning / human interpretation, certainly we can to enforce it to the making of web sites, we can "take advantage" of the principle of past experience to compose layouts!
Examples of the principle of past experience applied to web design
In the site Spot.BG, for example, we see this strange way, this thing beyond recognition, left, smiling. "Surprised how"? No, not… Unless you are someone who never saw a woman before, throughout your life, your brain will make the correct association and identify, instantly, that this is the head of a woman whose body is "hidden" behind the body of the site.
In restaurantica can understand (in screen resolution of 1280 by 1024, or more) as the principle of past experience is well used, giving these fine cutlery (see, you can know that because we are cutlery such as cutlery, as already we have seen in the past).
Look at that beautiful books are part of the composition of site design dustycover.da. They are books, are not they? ;-)
In this site Missionary Baptist Church, for example, we can understand the subtle put tree in the background. Everyone realized that it is a tree because one has already been seen in some point in our lives, and we have to fold the second law of past experience, associate and interpret the composition, identifying that, really, this is a tree.
Usability on the web and the principle of Gestalt of past experience
Personally, I believe that the principle of past experience has much to do with the usability on the web, since it is from situations already passed by people who use the Internet (studied by experts in the field) that certain behaviors were "enshrined" in " diagrams "of web sites. For example, positions of certain elements in a web design facilitate and improve the experience of those who use them and facilitate the completion of tasks.
The Web usability is a huge issue, mentioned only in respect to complement the subject and make it clear that I am among those who think that the principle of past experience and usability have much to do with each other.
But this is a subject for another series…
Conclusion
As the examples of sites showed it is possible to achieve interesting and visually pleasing is worth the theory of the principle of past experience. As I often say, the most important is knowing when to use and, more importantly, the cause and effects that this technique can cause the experience of those who see the work.
Well, personally, this was the last article on Gestalt applied to web design. Thank you to all who followed the series, liked and / or learned something about Gestalt. I could help, and wanting to write about something in particular, send a message to me.
Abraços until the next!
Very, very, very brilliant this series of articles. With such simplicity you have the concept clearly and objectively. I very much.
Congratulations.
@ Alexandre de Oliveira
Obrigadíssimo, Alexandre! I am happy that you've liked and I hope, sincerely, that it is useful!
Big hug and thanks for comment! Apareça!
Your posts have been useful!
Mt you!
:)
Adriana @
I do thank you for hearing, Adriana. I visited your blog and found very interesting, even more now that I saw written vai you write on blogs, too! I signed and I look forward to the feed the news!
Abraços and appear!
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