Sketch a small, geometric shape and arrange it on a grid to create a larger design. For instance, copy and arrange black triangles around the edge of a circle and you will see a sun shape appear. If you draw an eagle head at the center of the circle with triangular feathers, the eagle and sun will appear as part of a unified whole. This example demonstrates the principle of gestalt similarity. Use your grid to heighten this effect through symmetry. For instance, if the apexes of your triangles cross the meridians of the circle, your sun rays will appear to perfectly reflect each other, creating even more visual unity.
Erase portions of your design to create gestalt closure in your composition. According to the Department of Graphic Arts at Spokane Falls Community College, closure occurs when "people perceive the whole by filling in the missing information." For instance, if you erased only part of the outline of a circle, a viewer would still recognize the shape as a circle, even though it was incomplete. A grid allows you to precisely control this effect. For example, if you overlaid a white cutout over a black and white checkerboard, the curved black squares would be enough to fool a viewer into seeing a complete circle.
Arrange design elements near each other to create gestalt proximity. For instance, use your grid to create a black and white checkerboard pattern, then fill the white squares with black circles and black squares with white circles. Because the circles and squares are so close to each other, the viewer will alternate between seeing circles and shapes. However, if you omit the circles from the edges of the checkerboard pattern, the viewer will only see squares, as no circles are in proximity to them. This will also create the illusion of continuance, as the viewer's eye will be led around the exterior of the design.