ENG 1510 Bernhardt Response

Alex Gilkerson

ENG 1510

9-19-12

Summary

This article is based on what we see and how we feel about it.  It tells us what gestalt s and how it plays with our minds.  Mostly in ads, they will have different strategies to catch the consumers eye.  This is a very effective way to get people to attend your function or to buy something.   Not only does it show the positive sides to gestalt, also the negative side.  An example would be if they are trying to sell you something, and the brochure is black and white, small text and a lot of it, and basically just boring.  That is a very big negative side to gestalt.

Synthesis

Compared to other articles we have read, this one talks more about the way we see things and how to increase the attention of someone reading it.  Basically if the information is boring, like black and white, not many pictures, it isn’t going to bring any attention to the reader.  If for instance the ad had pictures, bright colors, different shapes, different font and bigger letters, it will intrigue readers and get them interested in whatever it is you’re showing them.

Questions for Discussion

4.  I feel that instructors in High School made you write in a specific format so it was easier for them to grade.  It kept them all similar so they didn’t have to do as much thinking as to trying to understand everybody’s point of view.  I really don’t agree with this system.  It is not helping any student further their learning process.  The public school system is turning kids into mindless consumers.They teach them all the same thing, regardless of there education level.  The smarter students cannot learn as much and the slower students cannot keep up.  So not only are we supposed to focus on one particular format for writings, but basically every other aspect in school.

Applying and Exploring Ideas

3.  Gestalt in my way of saying, is kind of a way to represent something that you feel is important.  Like today in class, we were asked to bring in an ad of some kind to discuss with the class.  I brought in an ad for the Ohio Snowcats Organization represent an up and coming white water rafting trip.  The gestalt in this ad was not up to par in my eyes.  It was black and white with few words and few pictures.  You could tell it was printed on regular paper and copied a bunch of times.  It was promoting a rafting trip, yet didn’t have a picture of a raft.  They had a picture of the bus ride, the worst part.

Personal Reflection

This article was pretty entertaining.  It got me to think about different articles and ads that I see everyday.  It is kind of neat to look at them and kind of know where they are going with it.  Anytime I see an ad from now on, I will judge it on the gestalt.