Gestalt Theory

A theory in psychology that discusses the general idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's based on a human need to search for stability and meaning, which leads to organic movements towards wholeness. Gestalt Theory assumes there are inherent flaws in how we perceive forms and patterns, and it holds that this innate tendency transforms into an active process of looking for order in reality.

More terms you might want to know

Centre Aligned

A layout where all the content, mostly text, is aligned to the centre. The overall purpose of a Centre Alignment is to make it easier for users to read and scroll through content.

Asymmetry

The degree of difference between the two sides of an object or system.

Descenders

The portion of a letter such as y, p, q or j that hangs below the baseline of the text.

Proximity

The placement or otherwise of a thing in relation to other things. In design, proximity may be considered as the distance between two items in space or their relative location to each other.

Die Cut

A type of print/design created with a metal stamp to create a shape out of paper using a die cutting machine. Die cuts can be used in apparel, home decor and promotional products.

Scope Creep

Scope creep is when the scope of a project starts to grow without any agreement on how it's going to be paid for. Creep happens because items and features are tacked on top of the original scope of work agreed upon in the original contract.

Affordance

Affordances describe a relationship between the environment and an animate object, classified as either positive or negative.

Items, such as a car that leads to movement, have a positive affordance. Things like stairs that lead upwards have a negative affordance because they will not allow for any other form of movement other than up or down if used accordingly.

User Flow

The way that a user navigates through a website, app, etc.

Thumbnail

A small, non-preview image that accompanies a larger image. It provides an immediate sense of the content while not necessarily revealing it in its entire scope.

AI File

An Adobe Illustrator vector format file. Files with the extension .ai are often used for artwork and illustrations as users can resize them without distortion. It is composed of several layers with objects and text on each layer. Users can import Illustrator files into many other programs like InDesign, Acrobat, Photoshop etc. If you design or print your t-shirts, you can create your designs in Illustrator and apply them to your t-shirt using a heat press.

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