INTERACTION DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR INTERACTIVE ...

important elements via compositional and type variation plus the disposition of
space.
Source: Jute, 1996.
Design grids that are used for well-produced print media are equally important in
computer or television layouts, and the same principles outlined here apply regardless of
the platform. It is worthwhile to note that in recent years, two different layout
conventions – overlays and the embedded “L design,” used most effectively by Dale
Herigstad, have emerged in the realm of iTV interface design. The merits of these design
layouts for iTV will be discussed in detail in chapter five. In general, however, iTV
interaction designers should keep in mind that constructing an effective and consistent
grid makes an iTV application both functional and aesthetic: it can aid a design by
helping to communicate an intended message, script user interactions, create and
maintain a brand identity if desired, and be user-friendly, promoting consistency and
predictability within the system.
4.1.2 Gestalt Laws
The Gestalt laws apply to patterns in human visual perception. The Gestalt
approach, formed at the beginning of the 20th century, emphasizes that we perceive
objects as well-organized patterns rather than discrete parts. The psychologists who
formulated the Gestalt laws understood them to be principles that have universal validity
(Thissen, 2004). We can extrapolate these laws to the realm of interaction design, where
they certainly have relevance to the design process:
The Law of Proximity. Elements that are close to each other spatially are
perceived as belonging together. Group the elements that belong together close to
each other.
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