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Perception, much like cognition encompasses a vast field of research and theory
that is far to broad to go into detail here, but there are specific points that an interactive designer might
find interesting and/or relevant to what they do.
Understanding human perception goes a long way toward producing effective visual design of any sort, especially as it
applies to interactive design. What follows are four basic ideas in perceptual theory that, when understood and
factored into design ideas, may have positive results.
Gestalt theory spills into many different disciplines, mostly stemming from the meaning of the word "gestalt,"
from German meaning, roughly, "shape" or "whole." Gestalt psychology operates under the belief that an individual
will not perceive multiple mutually independent events from a variety of items seen or heard, but will combine a
"sensory scene" into a functional whole. From a design perspective, there are certain forms and collections of forms
that lend themselves to the formation of such a functional whole. Such forms are said to have "Pragnanz," or "good
Gestalt." The idea here is that a design (a web design, in this case) will have more inherent perceptual and
cognitive "ease," depending on the degree of Pragnanz in its constituent forms. Much of what is listed in
"The Principles of Basic Decency" comes from this simple axiom.
J.J. Gibson's idea of humans perceiving reality in terms of an "ambient optic array," fuels the notion that to
efficiently interact with a "virtual" version of such an array, the representation must somehow mimic the way
light works in reality. This being the case, the effective visual designer will make use of figure-ground
relationships, complementary hues, and may attempt to create a "luminescently sound" illusion of space or depth (like
a push button) in their representation.
Sometimes, in an attempt to create an illusion of space or depth, a designer might also inadvertently (or not so) make
use of the Zeignarnik Effect. This is a term derived from work by Bliuma Zeigarnik, establishing the fact that
people tend to remember interrupted tasks better than completed ones. This theory certainly has bearing on how a
site might be organized, but theorists have suggested that an analog of such an effect exists in visual perception.
It is suggested that the human mind, on some level, wishes to make a "whole" of whatever it is they are looking at.
When the ability to form that gestalt is inhibited or somehow prevented, perceptual task memory is higher.
Ultimately, there is much to be learned from the fields of perceptual theory, but most interactive designers might
not feel that they have the time or aptitude to explore the subject in any great detail. The information above only
scratches the surface, but it may be useful for interested readers to see some perceptual and cognitive theories as
they might be applied in the interactive world on "The Principles of Basic Decency" page.
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