The Gestalt principles are valuable tools that document designers can use to help them accomplish their rhetorical goals. However, the Gestalt principles are not intrinsically rhetorical, and they were not intended to tell designers what their goals ought to be. The Gestalt psychologists were not advocating that designers make every figure as strong as possible. Nor were they saying that symmetrical designs are better than asymmetrical ones. Rather, the Gestalt psychologists were describing the effects that closure, symmetry, asymmetry, proximity, similarity, continuity, grouping, hierarchy, and balance would have on the appearance of figures. Their principles are descriptive, not prescriptive.

This is an important point because some articles that apply Gestalt principles to document design—though helpful in raising awareness about the applications of Gestalt ideas—have introduced confusions. And sometimes these articles tend to restate the author's misunderstandings prescriptively. For example, some authors have cautioned document designers to avoid asymmetrical layouts, claiming that symmetrical organizations are intrinsically better. This is nonsense. It is simply not true that an asymmetrical page or graphic appears esthetically unpleasing or that this asymmetry may give the reader the impression that something is missing or wrong. It is also imprecise to say that asymmetrical elements on a page seem unstable, and they distract readers from the content of the message. Most of 20th century graphic design has worked toward perfecting the art of asymmetry as a means of articulating complex rhetorical relationships.

It is important to distinguish the concepts of symmetry and balance. They are not the same!

The quality of balance ensures that the display remains stable in its position on the page or screen. Balance can be achieved by using either symmetric or asymmetric layout. Classic display typography, which evolved over centuries from conventions originating in monumental inscriptions and other forms of public proclamations, is simple, centered, and perfectly symmetrical. In the 20th Century, typographic designers discovered the greater vitality and inherent visual interest provided by active, asymmetric layouts.

Balance in display design (e.g., paper documents, on-line documents, or computer interfaces) is analogous to balance in everyday physics. A composition is balanced when the visual weight of design elements on either side of the composition is approximately equal. The visual weight of the composition is distributed across the center of balance (the “fulcrum” in the physical analogy) like the weights on a scale. When the visual weight and distance from the center of elements on each side of the axis are physically equal, the impression of balance is guaranteed. Symmetrical layouts provide this visual equilibrium automatically. Asymmetrical layouts can achieve equilibrium as well, but their tenser, more dramatic form of balance depends on careful manipulation to compensate visually for differences in the size, position, and value of major elements. As with a physical balance, lighter elements can balance heavier elements if their size or value (visual weight) is increased, or if they are moved farther from (or the heavier element is moved closer to) the center of balance. The axis of symmetry can be vertical or diagonal, as long as elements are balanced properly about it.

Any principle of organization, symmetrical or asymmetrical, must complement the linguistic and rhetorical aims of the text. Symmetry is an extremely useful organizational device for many documents, both paper and online. However, when overused, symmetry can make documents look dull and uninteresting. Often, asymmetry can have a very welcome enlivening effect.

Gestalt principles are important for document design because they can help us guide the reader's focus of attention, emphasize certain groupings, and organize sequences of the content. In effect, they can be employed rhetorically. Moreover, the Gestalt principles, although not telling the whole story, do help us organize the visual field in ways that support our rhetorical goals and intentions.