The Rules of Simplicity~McFarland

To the left is a billboard advertising McDonald's fresh salads. When first viewing this ad, it was clear to me that there was gestalt present on the billboard, however it was difficult to pin-point which category it fell into. After debating whether it belonged under the Simplicity Rule or the Similarity Rule, I came to the conclusion that simplicity was the principle that this advertisement adhered to. The Gestalt Theory explains the Rule of Simplicity as, "The use of organizing things into simple designs by way of their symmetry, regularity, and texture" (allgraphicdesign.com).

The Rule of Simplicity promotes the "KISS" method, also known as "Keep It Simple, Stu***(dent)". Although the method may seem bland and common upon reading its definition, the more images that I found that were created based on the Rule of Simplicity, the more those preconceived notions I had were smashed. I came to realize the power of negative space versus filled space, and noted the power of simplistic design and space layout.

This billboard for McDonald's fresh salads is extremely effective, due to the association it makes in the mind of its viewers. When looking at this ad, appeals were made to all five of my senses. I could see the salad and the color of it, hear the crunch of the fork against the lettuce, taste my favorite salad, feel the grassy texture and even smell fresh, clean air, as that is the association that my mind makes with that first word. This is an extremely effective use of the Gestalt Theory, as the textured font combined with the words combined with the product McDonald's was advertising formed a beautiful marriage that made me want to race out and get lunch, even though I have never even had a McDonald's salad. If the elements were separated, for example if the words, "Fresh Salads" were there, but did not have the textured designs, I may shrug to myself and think sarcastically, "yeah, right, fresh out of the freezer." However, since the image conjured up already formed images and feelings in my mind, the ad was appealing to me.