I chose this website to represent gestalt design because of its simplicity. While there are no pictures or colors to represent similarity, the idea of size and font brings the website together as a whole. The main font creates similarity by size, but also by shape. While “Life” and “Sam” are directly related by font size, the “according to” also can be grouped along with them due to shape of the font. All of the symbols at the bottom also relate well to the rest of the webite not only because they are the same color, but becuase they are geometrically placed in the middle of the page like the rest of the font. The symbols work together as a group themselves but also relate to the rest of the webpage.
I am a strong believer of the simpler the better, and this website is a great example of that. In terms of the figure and ground, there is a significant difference between the white type and the black background. This contrast essentially makes the type an image and stand out from its surroundings. There is a very nice use of proximity and alignment in this layout, and by centering “Life of Sam” in the middle of the page and significantly increasing its size the website also creates a strong visual hierarchy.
I think that the visual hierarchy in this website is the most dominant of the different gestalt principles. The most important information (the title, link to the trailer etc.) is directly in the middle. After seeing this the eye might either look down to awards along the bottom or up to the navigation bar. I think that these two different pieces of information also help with the symmetry of the page. They are relatively similar looking and really act to frame the important information in the middle. As far as the navigation bar goes, I think it is understated but in a good way. The internet has come a long way and so has people understanding of it. Flashy, brightly colored, bulky navigation bars aren’t needed anymore. People understand how they work and they know where to look for them. The subtlety of this once is nice. It doesn’t detract attention away from the rest of the page.