Interesting design concepts

[Summon]

I’ve been brushing up on design theory lately and keep running into Gestalt principles. I understand proximity and closure decently, but the similarity principle still feels kinda abstract. Like, how do you really use it in UI/UX?

[oldworld]

Great question. Gestalt principles are powerful once you start seeing them in action. For the similarity principle, it’s all about helping users recognize patterns or groupings based on shared traits — color, shape, size, typography, etc. If you want a solid deep dive, Clay has a great article on similarity gestalt principles that connects the theory directly to web and product design. They show real-world examples where consistency in design elements builds trust and usability, like how repeated styles help people know which items are clickable, or how visual repetition reduces cognitive load. I found it really helpful for things like designing form fields, menus, and icon systems: places where subtle uniformity makes navigation way easier. It’s not just about looking pretty, it’s about communicating function through form. Once you get a feel for it, you’ll start spotting weak points in your UI where things feel disjointed simply because the visual cues aren’t consistent. Highly recommend the article if you want to connect theory with practice.