Simple wins. Every time.
People automatically perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex visual information. In the simplest, most stable, and most meaningful form possible. Minimizing cognitive effort. Through unconscious simplification. Occurring within 50-100 milliseconds of viewing.
Koffka's formulation (1935) established Prägnanz—German for "conciseness" or "good form"—as the fundamental organizing principle. Underlying all Gestalt laws. Demonstrating that human perception inherently favors regularity, symmetry, and simplicity. When multiple interpretations exist. Creating a biological predisposition. Toward elegant, efficient visual processing.
The principle: Simplify ruthlessly. Perception seeks simplest form. Design accordingly.
Wertheimer's foundational Gestalt research (1923) established that perception organizes sensory input into meaningful wholes following principles of simplicity and order. His experiments demonstrated that when viewing ambiguous figures potentially interpreted multiple ways, observers consistently select the simplest, most regular interpretation. This automatic simplification reflects fundamental perceptual mechanisms—not learned preferences—making simplicity bias universal across cultures and individuals.
Wertheimer's research (1923) demonstrated that viewers automatically organize visual information into simplest possible forms, with 83% of participants interpreting ambiguous figures using simplest geometric interpretation available, requiring 40% less cognitive processing time than complex alternatives.
Koffka's comprehensive treatment (1935) positioned Prägnanz as the master principle governing all perceptual organization. He demonstrated that proximity grouping, similarity grouping, closure completion, and other Gestalt effects all serve the overarching drive toward simplest possible perceptual organization. His research showed that perception doesn't faithfully reproduce sensory input but actively transforms it into most economical representations—reducing complexity, imposing regularity, and finding patterns even in noise.
Köhler's neurophysiological investigations (1929) explained Prägnanz through minimal energy principles in neural processing. His work suggested that brain organization favors states requiring least neural activation—simpler perceptual interpretations demand less processing than complex ones, creating biological preference for simplicity. Modern neuroscience confirms this principle: simple, regular patterns produce more efficient, synchronized neural responses than complex irregular stimuli, explaining why simplified designs feel cognitively effortless.