Analysis of the Artistic Characteristics of Men’s Hairstyles through Gestalt Psychology: Focused on Men’s Hair Design Works from the National Skills Competition (2020-2024)

Purpose: The formative and artistic characteristics of selected men’s hair design works presented at the National Skills Competition from 2020 to 2024 were analyzed by applying the Gestalt principles of proximity, similarity, and closure. Methods: A qualitative case-analysis method was employed. Public task descriptions, requirement sheets, and work images provided by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea through MeisterNet were reviewed, and three representative tasks were selected based on data accessibility, task representativeness, and clear application of the Gestalt principle. Results: In the 2020 men’s classic style and blow-dry task, proximity was demonstrated through the visual grouping of the side part, nape, sideburns, beard, and frontal flow. In the 2022 men’s permanent wave task, similarity was demonstrated through repeated curls, wave direction, and curved beard expression. In the 2024 men’s fashion cut-and-color task, closure was revealed through mesh expression, highlights, cutting lines, color areas, and beard form. Conclusion: Gestalt psychology provides an analytical framework for interpreting structural order, visual unity, and artistry in men’s hair design. The findings suggest that competition hairstyles should be understood not only as technical outcomes but also as perceptually organized visual structures that generate aesthetic meaning.