Motion
Gestalt for Screen Design: Applied Theory of Grouping Principles for Visual
Motion Integrity
Jinsook
Kim, Ph. D.
Adviser: Prof. Sharon Poggenpohl
Co-adviser: Dr. Judith Gregory
Institute of Design
Illinois
Institute of Technology
Chicago,
Illinois
May
2007
Abstract
How
do we interpret and characterize motion on screen? Motion interpretation or its
meaning for direct use and application for screen design is largely
un-theorized despite extensive psychophysical and neurological understandings
developed by science. The focus of this research is complementary from a human
use standpoint, to build a theoretical basis for visual communication to
identify motion as structural meaning for emphasis or integrity on screen. It
sets the basis for providing practical guidelines for design performance on
screen involving visual motion. Gestalt theory, with its widely accepted
principles that guide meaningful or holistic visual experience, forms the
starting point of investigation.
The
process of building a theory of Motion Gestalt involves systematically
extending and defining grouping principles in Gestalt theory to accommodate the
element of time and its resulting possibilities of motion. Grouping principles
in sound provide informative sources for definition in that they have apparent
rhythmic or patterned character in time and can be related to motion. The
definitions become the basis for movie experiments that explore the
theoretically informed concepts. Data from the experiments are analyzed and interpreted
qualitatively using a system of notation to understand the research subjectsÕ
responses in the context of an experimental approach to characterize the
meaningfulness of the extended definitions.
The
grouping principles for motion provide a new theoretical understanding as a
basic approach to the construction of meaningful interpretation of visual
motion for communication design practice. For example, such understanding of
motionÕs meaningful implication becomes important in dynamic unfolding patterns
of complex data. The motion grouping principles attempt to define moving
stimuli in terms of simplicity of reception on the part of the viewer. The
definitions for grouping moving screen stimuli are based on: frequent movement,
similar directional movement, similar speed, parallel movement in replication,
causative logic, semantic summary, and meaningful emphasis of one pattern of
motion over another. The findings are suggestive for understanding and
designing motion on screen to support the creation of structural meaning or
simplicity in motion as a reflection of Motion Gestalt.