Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition

027 Closure

The brain automatically completes recognizable forms when they are interrupted or incomplete.

Closure, one of the Gestalt principles of perception, asserts that people are inclined to perceive a set of individual elements as a single, recognizable pattern, or closed figure, rather than multiple, individual elements. For example, when individual line segments are positioned along a circular path, they are first perceived holistically as a circle and then as multiple, independent elements. The brain subconsciously closes gaps and fills in missing information in order to perceive a completed pattern, even when there is not one. The principle is strongest when elements are located near one another and approximate simple, recognizable ...