Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition

031 Common Fate

The brain automatically assumes elements moving in similar ways are related.

Common fate, one of the Gestalt principles of perception, asserts that elements that move together in a common direction are perceived as a single group or chunk and are interpreted as being more related than elements that appear to move at different times or in different directions. For example, a row of randomly placed Xs and Os that is stationary is naturally grouped by similarity — Xs with Xs and Os with Os. However, if certain elements in the row move in one direction and other elements move in the opposite direction, elements are grouped by their common motion and direction.1

Perceived relatedness is strongest when the motion of elements occurs ...