#1
There is a reason some of these designs immediately catch the eye. According to Gatesman Agency, humans tend to appreciate visual order because symmetry and regularity make information easier for the brain to process. When a design feels organized and coherent, we can understand it almost instinctively.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean the most satisfying designs are the simplest ones. Effective design often combines order with variation, contrast, and complexity. Too much repetition can become dull, while carefully introduced differences give the eye something interesting to discover without making the composition feel chaotic.
#6
This may also explain why some of the images feel almost effortless to look at. SmartSource points to processing fluency, or the subjective feeling that something is easy to understand. When shapes, spacing, contrast, and symmetry work together naturally, the brain can make sense of the image with little effort.
The viewer probably isn't consciously analyzing all those elements, either. Instead, the image simply feels clear, smooth, or pleasing. Research generally finds that people tend to like images more when they experience them as easy to process. In other words, visual simplicity can quietly translate into aesthetic enjoyment.
Repetition can make that experience even stronger. Talent Whisperers explains that patterns allow the brain to anticipate what comes next. Rows of windows, repeated circles, alternating colors, or evenly spaced objects stop feeling like separate elements and become one larger visual pattern that the mind can recognize almost instantly.
That predictability can be surprisingly satisfying. Recognizing a pattern requires fewer mental resources, creates a sense that the environment is understandable, and gives the composition a feeling of unity. It can even help the eyes move naturally through an image, which is one reason perfectly arranged objects can be so difficult to stop staring at.
#13
Yet there is a catch: if everything follows the same pattern perfectly, our attention has little reason to linger. Quanta Magazine suggests that interesting designs often need some degree of tension. An unexpected color, asymmetrical shape, contrasting texture, or slightly unusual arrangement can interrupt the pattern and invite a closer look.
This tension doesn't necessarily make a design uncomfortable. Instead, it can act as a visual invitation. Order gives us a framework for understanding what we see, while complexity introduces enough difference to keep things interesting. The most compelling designs often find that middle ground between predictable repetition and overwhelming chaos.
Some images take this idea a step further by deliberately making us question what we're seeing. The so-called "aha!" effect happens when an initially confusing image suddenly reorganizes itself into something meaningful. A hidden shape, clever arrangement, or unexpected relationship can make the viewer go from “What am I looking at?” to "Oh, I get it!"
That moment of discovery can make an image especially rewarding. The initial surprise creates a mismatch between what we expect and what is actually there, encouraging us to investigate. Once the separate details suddenly make sense, the uncertainty disappears and is replaced by the satisfying feeling of having solved a tiny visual puzzle.