Powerful designs are often designed with intention. Intentional designers create purposeful designs by following rules, including but not limited to Gestalt principles and Fitts’s laws. Whether deliberately or subconsciously, these rules define the way we interpret and process information, because they exist everywhere: From the signs we see, to the interfaces on our screens, to the logos on billboards. These principles make up our daily living, yet many live in a Gestalt and Fitts constructed society obliviously.

In digital interfaces, Gestalt’s law of proximity, similarity, and continuity specifically coincide nicely when considering readability. For example, a dropdown menu. The uniformity in menu selection options are grouped in a similar orientation to indicate that they are components of the same category. Different dropdown menus are differentiated through proximity. Spacing acts as a barrier to separate and indicate that the two menus do not coexist together, but exist on its own. When considering a website, the dropdown selections directly influences the output display of the webpage. Continuity and common fate guides the users in how their eye processes the screen, whether it be to read vertically, horizontally, follow arrows, view images first, or view text first. Fitts’s laws enhances that experience by predetermining the ideal amount of button padding, and the target touch points of digital screens needed for a fluid user experience.

Acknowledging why these systems exist and came to be are important in creating mindful and effective designs. I plan to refer and reflect on how I design by further applying these principles when approaching design thinking. The more aware a designer is about their decisions, the better their designs are. These pre-constructed laws are the foundational components that help create meaningful digital experiences.