Week Thirteen, Stefaniak

I think this website, poetryfoundation.org, is extremely successful in its use of grids and hierarchy in its web design. Each section in the navigation bar is appropriately titled in a color that contrasts the subdivisions of each title, and they're equally spaced according to the grid system. The meat of the website, the center, is also nicely designed, leading to a very effective and easy to navigate website that's perfect for newcomers and seasoned visitors alike. Along with the website's coherence and clarity in hierarchy, the colors lend themselves to a calming and serene, yet classy design. It's one of my more favored websites to visit.

Week Ten, Stefaniak

In this design, I've found the grid system to be quite useful. Though the grid usually isn't made visible to the viewer and is instead presumed to be there, this grid can be clearly seen. The lines of the grid are white, thin, and numerous, giving clarity to the design. Since every box contains a different pattern that together forms the full picture of a wolf, the grid proves itself to be very useful. If the grid wasn't there, then the entire picture probably would've looked like messy as a mesh of different patterns. Instead, the grid pattern provides visual interest and aids continuity, a Gestalt principle, for the design.

Week 8 | Murphy

The NBA logo uses the gestalt principles of silhouette and figure and ground. The basketball player in the middle can be seen as a cut out, or it can be seen as part of the whole picture. The use of white in the silhouette works with the color scheme of the American Flag. I think this logo is very effective and appeals to every type of nationality. The player in the middle is simple enough the keep the logo professional, but detailed enough to immediately understand what it is depicting. It definitely utilizes the simplicity of images that represent gestalt principles. It is clean cut and bold which are things I think of that deal with Gestalt.

The Playstation logo is an example of the gestalt principle of closure. The principle of closure has to do with our wanting to close shapes however, by not closing the shape, our imaginations run wild. In this logo, one cannot tell where the "P" ends because it runs into the "S" and the "S" proceeds to run into the P. The lack of closure leaves the viewer the ability to keep viewing the logo in a different way.

Week Eight - Seo

MTV has a recognizable logo that is a great example of using Gestalt principle. The definition of continuous in Gestalt is that it occurs compelled to move through one object to another object. The first sight of this logo is the huge “M” then the eye follows into the letter “TV”. Putting the word “TV” into the letter “M” together is the creative way to make logo simple and sophisticated. They used the black and white contraction which makes logo more focused and accentuated because the color of black and white is the best combination color for contradiction. I personally love the letter M made up with the shape of the television which I think it was very innovative way of connecting the word TV.

Week Eight Schwartz

This image serves as a solid example of the gestalt principles. For one, it uses simplicity to attract attention to the logo. There is continuation present leading the eye from one part of the logo to the other, as your eye is first drawn to the "you", but the main attention lies in the "tube." Another aspect of gestalt principles can be seen through the way that tube is actually in a tube, it seems. It is physically manifesting the message it is trying to get across. Also, the color choice is clear because red is the most universally recognized and understood color after black and white. It is appealing to all kinds of people, which adds to the universiality of the logo and therefore the company.

Week Eight, Stefaniak

“Sinkit is a tool used to improve a golfer’s putting skills. For the name, we generated over fifty possible options and singled out Sinkit for its distinctness, phonetic appeal, and meaning. Sinkit’s logo reflects the purpose and effectiveness of the putting aid. The logo’s letterforms have unique characteristics—a balanced construction of geometric curves and precise angles—that suggest ideas of accuracy, technique, and advancement.” -from the logo creator

This logo, used by the company that creates aids to help golfers putt, successfully uses several Gestalt theories that are crucial to good design. First, it uses the principle of figure and ground to help the ball and the hole stand out amid the name of the company. Secondly, it uses continuation along the top header to lead the eye to the ball and eventually to the hole, connecting the idea of the putt to the I in the logo. The intended audience is the golfing community, and one golfer who reviewed the logo even said "that’s the best logo I have seen in a long ti anything's me. As a golfer, the concept stood out to me even before reading the description." The only issue with the design seems to be color, though. In a time where gender neutrality is extremely important, the logo emits a strong sense of femininity due to the richness of the pink. If holding back the design from being successful, the color would be it.

[http://logooftheday.com/2009-06-25-sinkit/]

Week Seven | Murphy

Unfortunately I was unable to find the commercial on YouTube, but I will try and describe it the best I can. There is an animated pop tart commercial where the pop tarts are making houses. But the pop tarts do not look exactly like they are in the package. It's more that the colors, the decorations, and the textures represent pop tarts. I think these colors represent gestalt principles because the similarity between the colors used in the commercial and the colors on the actual pop tarts are almost identical. Seeing that commercial immediately makes me think of pop tarts. A successful ad or commercial makes you want to get up and go buy the product. This pop tart commercial definitely does that for me.