Using the element of shape shapes in graphic design can seem very basic, but there are underlying meanings and complex ways of using shape that are important to remember. Shapes don’t have to be just squares, circles and triangles. Quick points to remember about the element of shape:
Three classes of shape
- Geometric: mechanical, pure form
- Natural: organic, irregular
- Abstract: mass and proportion
Shape and meaning
- Curves and Circles are soft, whole, peace, feminine, everlasting, care-free
- Rectangular means trust, order, security, masculine, solid, reliable, predictable, familiar, monotonous, boring
Shape can be used to
- create texture
- define space
- separate/emphasize
- produce mood
For a more in depth look at the theories behind shape, read Get in Shape in 10 Minutes or Less.
Waitrose Honey
The Waitrose Honey logo uses implied shape and lines to create the E and the beebody. This practice of implied shape is often referred to as Gestalt theory, which basically states that you can infer a whole by only seeing its parts. There really is nothing to that bee body other than three lines, but you see the striped body of a bee because your mind says you should.
Usually people are scared of bees because they sting, but this bee is actually kind of cute! Why? It is a soft bee. What makes it soft? It has smooth curves in its wings, body and head that give it a calm appearance. Asking and then answering these kinds of questions will help you discover what makes good design good and how you can incorporate those rules into your own compositions.
Also notice the underlying rectangles of the honey logo as whole. Rectangles evoke feelings of dependability, reliability, predictability; you can trust this honey to be good. Underlying shapes are very important to composition, as noted earlier in Why Being Odd is Good: The Principle of Balance, which goes over the rule of thirds and triangle composition.
Degrees of Separation
Typography can take shape, too. With weight (bold, light), leading, size, style (regular, italic), tracking or kerning, and word wrap, you can control the shape your type takes. Also pay attention to the shape of your body copy and remember that you can wrap it around images or make it take on shapes of its own to incorporate it into the rest of the design. An invitation to an aquarium may have bubbles in the background and you may design the body copy to fit in the shape of a circle to repeat the theme. You may recall the poet ee cummings from school. No, those crazy punctuations, lack of spacing and weird line breaks aren’t a mistake!
Remember that even if you are only using a standard rectangle for your body copy, it can still use shape. Blur your eyes to get a feel for how it sits on the page. Is it too dominant? There are many things you can do to lighten its visual weight: decrease the point size, increase leading, narrow column width, wider alley space, or break up text into multiple short columns—just to name a few ideas.
Cat Box Business Card
Have you ever thought about incorporating the shape of the medium into your design? Diecuts are a great way to use shape and they make the product unique and memorable. Diecut shapes are another way to work in a repeating shape element, too.
Catalina Estrada
Shapes run rampant in the works of Catalina Estrada. She has a unique way of combining basic geometric shapes and simple organic shapes (trees, grass, simple animals and plants) within her illustrations, that, along with the bright, primary colors, give her work an innocent, child-like, playful quality. The shapes are delicate; even the ones that have a bit of sharp end—like the blades of grass or the girl’s hair—curve gracefully.
This has been the second installment in Real World Examples of the elements of design. Previously covered was line and next up are space, shape, scale, texture, value, use of color and the color wheel and color theory.. Subscribe to Creative Curio by RSS or email so you don’t miss any more of these awesome articles! Don’t know what RSS is? Check it out. And remember that May 1st is RSS Awareness Day!
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Hi Lauren,
As much as I don’t like honey, I love those Waitrose honey jars! The die-cut business card is also great. I’ve seen some classic examples of cards using similar, simple features. All it takes is a little thought to have your card stand out.
Oh, and your new PR5 is fully deserved. Keep up the great articles.
David,
Hi!! Aren’t those jars beautiful?? The group that designed them (Turner Duckworth) was featured in Communication Arts earlier this year. They have really great work.
Yay, PR5! I noticed that a few months ago
Oops. I’m a bit late then. Still, your blog is more than worth the trust Google places on it.
David,
No worries! I’m sure you don’t check the PR of your blogs every day, let alone other people’s! I just happened to check it one day and saw that. I don’t even remember why I was checking…
No problem about the test emails, Lauren. Glad you got it sorted.
As for the one click upgrade, I’d be a little wary of the additional files I’ve created being replaced. There are quite a few I need to ‘uncheck’ from deleting when working through an upgrade.
This was something we tackled in the first few classes of uni last year. The basic elements such as line shape texture colour etc.
Pity they didn’t have this article at Uni, it could have helped many lost souls out.
* Geometric: mechanical, pure form
* Natural: organic, irregular
* Abstract: mass and proportion
When you mentioned this, it is a great way to put it. We are actually doing mechanical poster design atm (heard of AM Cassandre?) and it is so much different that working with natural shapes. I will be posting some of my designs on JCD in the shortish future so keep an eye out for em.
Another quality post Lauren.
I’ve studied the Gestal Theory in at least two different psychology classes and have never thought of it applying to design or text in the way that it does with th bee. Thanks so much for pointing that out. I love it when certain fields overlap.
Also, I really like the Catalina Estrada picture that you posted. It’s a great example of the shapes affecting the mood of the piece (do the branches of the trees look like eyes to anyone else?).
David,
Yeah, I backed up some of the files I’ve modified before doing the update. Then I download the new files and fix them and upload them again. But it’s sooo much easier than sitting there waiting for them to upload by FTP (which usually times out at least twice).
Jacob Cass,
Yeah, these are the basics of design, but I find myself needing to come back to them and think about them in depth, especially when feeling stuck or that a project just needs a little more polish and I don’t know what to do. I come back and reference my own articles sometimes! Ah yes, Cassandre… had to look him up but I have seen his posters before (Dubonnet is a popular decoration in restaurants). So glad to hear these are helping you out, Jacob!
Jacob Carter,
Oh wow! I never noticed the eyes in the trees but as soon as I looked after reading your comment, you are so right! It’s especially noticeable in the cropped one. I wonder if it was intentional.
Yeah, Gestalt is all over the place! It’s a pretty interesting theory. I think everything overlaps, you just have to find the connections
Those waitrose honey jars look awesome. They would definitely stand out in a drab supermarket with the boring bear bottles.
the eyes sees the pattern of the bee. amazing way that geometetric shapes are interpreted. do you have any more examples?
Utilization of different shapes can really spice up a website, and set your site apart from others that you’re competing with.
Nice post. Just continue posting a lot of these. It’s educational and informative.
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[...] many common ideas and themes with the visual arts. For example, repetition, rhythm, harmony, tone, shape, space, scale, line, texture and colour are terms common to both the musical and visual language [...]
[...] Using Shape: Real World Examples [...]
[...] many common ideas and themes with the visual arts. For example, repetition, rhythm, harmony, tone, shape, space, scale, line, texture and colour are terms common to both the musical and visual [...]