What do geometric shapes mean

Circles protect, they endure, they restrict. They offer safety and connection. Circles suggests community, integrity, and perfection. Because they are less common in design they work well to attract attention, provide emphasis, and set things apart. Squares and rectangles are stable. They have right angles and represent order, mathematics, rationality, and formality. They are seen as earthbound. Rectangles are the most common geometric shape encountered.

The majority of text we read is set in rectangles or squares. Squares and rectangles suggest conformity, peacefulness, solidity, security, and equality. Their familiarity and stability, along with their commonness can seem boring. They are generally not attention getters, but can be tilted to add an unexpected twist. Think of web pages that tilts framed images to help them stand out. Every element on a web page is defined by a rectangle according to the css box model.

Web pages are rectangles made up of smaller rectangles and squares. In Buddhist symbolism a square earthbound inside a circle eternal whole represents the relationship between the human and the divine.

Triangles can be stable when sitting on their base or unstable when not. They represent dynamic tension , action, and aggression. They are balanced and can be a symbol for law, science, and religion.

Triangles can direct movement based which way they point. They can be used to suggest familiar themes like pyramids, arrows and, pennants. Spiritually they represent the religious trinity. They can suggest self-discovery and revelation. The strength of triangles suggests masculinity. Their dynamic nature make them better suited to a growing high tech company than a stable financial institution when designing a logo. Triangles can be used to convey progression, direction, and purpose. Spirals are expressions of creativity.

They are often found in the natural growth pattern of many organisms and suggest the process of growth and evolution. Spirals convey ideas of fertility, birth, death, expansion, and transformation. They are cycles of time, life, and the seasons and are a common shape in religious and mystical symbolism.

They represent trust during change, the release of energy and maintaining flexibility through transformation. Clockwise spirals represent projection of an intention and counterclockwise spirals the fulfillment of an intention.

Double spirals can be used to symbolize opposing forces. Crosses symbolize spirituality and healing. They are seen as the meeting place of divine energies. The 4 points of a cross represent self, nature, wisdom, and higher power or being. Crosses suggest transition, balance, faith, unity, temperance, hope, and life. They represent relationships and synthesis and a need for connection to something, whether that something is group, individual, self, or project related..

As with lines vertical shapes are seen as strong and horizontal shapes are seen as peaceful. Most everything said about vertical and horizontal lines can be said about vertical and horizontal shapes.

Curved shapes offer rhythm and movement, happiness, pleasure and generosity. They are seen as more feminine than sharp shapes which offer energy, violence and, anger. Sharp shapes are lively and youthful and are seen as more masculine. We use shapes to add and sustain interest in a design. Shapes of different visual weight can be used to create focal points in a design and direct the flow of a design.

Shapes organize elements by separating some and connecting others. Shapes can be used to convey depth by varying their size and position within a design. Larger shapes will appear closer and smaller shapes will appear further away. Shapes that are located lower in a design will seem closer and those higher up further away. Overlapping shapes is another way to create a sense of one in front of the other to add depth to your design.

Shapes that lean toward a protagonist appear to be blocking or stopping progress. Shapes leaning away from the protagonist give the impression of aiding progress by opening up space. Shapes like lines are an essential building block in our visual vocabulary and grammar.

Try to create a design without using at least one shape. There are an infinite variety of shapes and shape combinations. Most of the shapes you use and encounter will be geometric so try to work in organic shapes to create interest where appropriate. Abstract shapes are symbols representing organic shapes and are common to logos and icons.

They can carry a lot of meaning due to their connection with more concrete natural forms and can communicate quickly and effectively and because of this some are overused. Look around you and observe shapes in designs and nature and think about what they are saying to you, what they make you feel, what they are communicating.

Do they enhance or hinder the message of the designs you see? Keep pen and paper handy and scribble and doodle various shapes. Notice the shapes you draw, how they affect you, and how you can use them in your designs. Download a free sample from my book, Design Fundamentals. Are you sure about that? I imagine the shape comes from the rays of light you see looking at a star. Good point. We see in 2 dimensions, but our brain process the eye signals to give to the object that we are looking at a position in a certain moment; at the saim time we process other information like shape, colours, shadows ecc.

The beuty of all this is that we are our brain. Because this post is about the meaning of shapes in 2-dimensional graphic design. Not every post or article can be about all things. I totally agree with you that Visual clarity acts as a catalyst for insights to be discovered, understandings that are often otherwise labeled as unfathomable. Thanks Ashley. Happy to help if I can though. Thanks for expanding my mind and what my eyes can see and now appreciate in a more full understanding.

Thank you Steven. This post is very comprehensive and is helping me consider the elements to include, and those not to, in the first am about to design. It for the drama team in my church. Good question. It might not be a single shape on its own that conveys superiority or arrogance. For example a large shape next to a small shape, particularly if the larger shape is seen as confining the smaller one would probably convey superiority. Very interesting information Steven and the way you wrote it is simple and easy to read-thanks!

Can I ask you to give me your references of these information or are these interpretations your subjective viewpoint? Thanks Hala. Some of the references are the things I linked to in the post. Outside of those links the information would have come from some books I was reading at the time.

I probably grabbed bits of information from several of the books, but I think the majority of information would have come from the following This is a pretty remarkable, clean, and fluid article. It matches my perception on 2-d shapes directly. As a graphic designer my brain posed the question: What do rectangles mean? And- why do we consume all of our daily media on devices and surfaces with rectangular shapes: newspapers, books, billboards, etc.

These things are no accident. Books, flat screens, billboards, could all easily be circular. Thanks Austin. Cool way to find the post. I also have a series on the elements of design you might like.

The link will take you to the first post and the bottom of that one should link to all the posts in the series. Shape symbols range from common circles and squares and triangles to more obscure shapes such as unicursal hexagrams. The 6th century BCE Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras believed that geometry was the rational understanding of God, man, and nature: Many of the shape meanings in western philosophies arise from his writings.

Various meanings are commonly ascribed to these shapes, particularly when used in religious or magical contexts. Circles are among the oldest of geometric symbols, and commonly represent unity, wholeness, and infinity. Pythagoras called the circle "monad," the most perfect of creative forms, without beginning or end, without sides or corners.

He associated the circle with the number 1 and the practice of monotheism. In the Zen Buddhist philosophy, a circle stands for enlightenment and perfection in unity with the primal principles. Circles are sometimes symbols of the Judeo-Christian God and sanctity, appearing as haloes. In Chinese symbology, the circle represents the heavens. Circles are also often seen as protective symbols.

In occult practices, standing within a circle shields people from supernatural dangers or outside influences. Circles can also represent containing, keeping what is inside from been released. The ouroboros Greek for "tail swallower" is a circular symbol representing a snake or dragon feeding off its own tail, or two such creatures feeding off each other's tails.

First attested in the New Kingdom Egypt in the 10thth century BCE, the ouroboros represents the cycle of rebirth, completion, unification of polarities, regeneration, and eternity. Ouroboros is also found in Aztec and Norse mythologies. The astrological symbol of the sun is a circle with a dot in the middle. The same symbol is used to represent gold, which is strongly associated with the sun. The element of spirit, seen as an element equal to or superior to the physical elements of fire, air, water, and earth, is commonly represented by a circle.

A spiral is a curve that starts as a point in the center, and curls around to a large circle; concentric circles are related symbols, consisting of a set of nested circles. Found in nature such as nautilus shells, spirals are some of the oldest geometric shapes, found carved into Neolithic passage tombs in the United Kingdom, carved on rock art around the world, and as part of the geoglyphic Nazca lines in Peru.

Anthropologists and others typically associate spirals and concentric rings with shamanism and the achievement of altered states of consciousness. In Western society, equilateral triangles most often have Christian meanings in religious contexts. Because the Christian God is a trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost united in a single godhead—he is commonly represented by a triangle. Pythagoras associated the number 3 with triangles, which is meaningful to many groups.

Triangles and other three-part symbols may present such concepts as past, present, and future or spirit, mind, and body. Some occultists use the triangle as a summoning symbol. At the culmination of a ritual, the desired being is expected to appear within a triangle inscribed upon the floor. The occultist often performs rituals from the protection of a circle. Point-Up and Point-Down Triangles. The orientation of a triangle can be important to its meaning.

Point-up triangles represent a strong foundation or stability. Earth and water symbols are formed from point-up triangles; pointing upward stands for the ascent to heaven. The point-up triangle can also represent male energy, and fire and air are masculine elements.

The point-down triangle can represent female energy, and water and earth are feminine elements. Symbols for air and fire are formed from point-down triangles; point-down triangles can represent the descent into the physical world. When paired and presented as point-to-point, triangles represent sexual union and the principle of harmony.

Intersecting point-up and point-down triangles creates hexagrams. The cross is best known in its Christian context as a symbol of sacrifice and salvation referring to Jesus' death by crucifixion.

The cross has numerous other religious meanings, most of which reflect groups of four, corresponding to the four points on the cross. Crosses commonly represent the earth and the physical universe, particularly in Western culture, primarily from two associations: the four physical elements earth, water, air, and fire and the four cardinal directions north, south, east, and west. The astrological symbol for Earth is a cross inside a circle.

This symbol, also known as a sun cross or solar wheel, has been associated with the sun and its four seasons. Crosses share many properties with squares , which usually have more material meanings than crosses.

Shapes with rounded edges are softer and more approachable, while shapes with sharp lines and edges, depict strength and presence. When it comes to the use of shape in design and layout, designers use shapes to:. When thinking of shapes these are the first to come to mind. They include squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, circles, ovals etc.

These shapes are easily identified and have been given names. The shapes with straight lines and angles usually symbolise structure and order, while the shapes with curves are softer and represent connection and community.

By nature these are irregular shapes and are more often than not curved or uneven. Like most things in nature, these shapes tend to be comforting and approachable. Represented in the shapes of rocks, clouds, leaves and flowers, they are mainly nature based, but can be man made with elements such as paint blobs or free drawing that are created through spontaneity.

Abstract shapes are recognisable in form, but are essentially not real as they are simplified versions of organic shapes. To give you an example, icons are abstract shapes that represent concepts and ideas, a stick figure is an abstract shape of a person etc.

These shapes represent stability. In fact, the rectangle is the most used area shape in logo design. The reason for its popularity is because it is a trusted familiar shape that represents honesty, solidity and stability. As squares and rectangles have straight lines and right angles they have a very mathematical, balanced feel.

These shapes scream rational, practical and conformity. As far as shapes go, these are neither flashy nor attention seekers — some may even venture to say that they are boring, however clever designers may twist or turn them to add interest to a design. All websites are made up on a grid pattern using rectangles and squares. The eye reads theses shapes easily which is why most text is contained within these shapes.

The square in Buddhism symbolises being earthbound. However, when placed inside a circle which symbolises eternal whole — together they represent the connection between the human and the divine.