Hidden Images

The Gestalt principals discussed this week reminded me of an email which my grandfather sent me. It contained company logos which used the Gestalt principals to create an image within the logo. You have probably seen some of these images before, nevertheless, here are a few of my favorites along with the Gestalt principal they utilize.

This Hidden image is formed by using the gestalt principal of Figure/Ground, the principal which states that we sometimes confuse the figure (image) with the ground (background). The images of the e and x form a hidden arrow on the ground between them.

Hidden within this image are two people sharing (or fighting) over a bowl of salsa. The logo utilizes the Law of Pragnanz -when we view complicated unrelated objects, as a simple whole - to correlate the t-i-t of Tostitos.

The Law of Pragnanz is used in the Tour DE France logo to create a bicycle. The o in Tour and the yellow circle are the wheels. The u is the bicycle seat and the r is the cyclist.

The Law of Common fate -object being moved/grouped in movement - is used in the Amazon logo to form their hidden image. The arrow connects the a and z in Amazon to symbolize that you can find anything from a to z at the Amazon store.

Like the FedEx logo, Hershey's Kisses utilizes the Gestalt principal of Figure/Ground to create a kiss between the K and i.

The Toblerone logo uses the Gestalt principal of the Law of Pragnanz, with its hidden image of a bear above the "ble."

The Goodwill logo uses the Gestalt principal of Figure/Ground, to show you that the smiley face is also the letter g.

This Baskin Robbins logo uses the Gestalt Principle of Similarity - grouping objects with similar visual characteristics. This forces you first to see the "BR" of Baskin Robbins first, then the pink makes you see the 31 in between.

This logo utilizes two Gestalt principals. The first is Closure - adding lines where there are none to create a whole. This is used in created the NW of north west, you first see the N, then the triangle is added to the N to create the W. The second principle used is proximity - when the position of elements informs you on how they are related. This is used also in grouping the triangle with the N, but in a separate way. The circle around the two figures, is a compass, and the triangle is the needle pointing

The Pittsburgh Zoo logo utilizes the Gestalt principle of Figure/Ground to make you see the figure of a Savannah tree, then the ground transforms into the lioness and gorilla