LEARN TO USE SHAPES IN DESIGNS

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Learn to Use Shapes in Designs
Psychology of Shapes
A PRESENTATION BY RAVI BHADAURIA
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Designs speak louder than words So shapes too.
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• The success of any visual composition highly
  relates to how people perceive it. 
• There are many factors influencing human
  perception and the significant part goes to
  psychology.

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• The aspect which we want to cover in todays
  class is called the psychology of shapes.

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• Lets see what this direction studies and how it
  can help designers like you in the creative
  process.
• All the visual objects can be analyzed in terms
  of shape.

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• For example, an average house may be perceived as
  a rectangle with a triangle on the top and the
  sun is often presented like a circle with lines
  around it.
• People may not always notice what figures and
  shapes surround them still they have a great
  impact on our consciousness and behavior.

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• The science studying the influence of shapes on
  people is known as the psychology of shapes.

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What are you going to learn today?

• What is the Shape?
• Meaning of Shapes
• Why Shapes are Important?
• Types of Shapes
• Negative and Positive Shapes
• Use of Shapes
• Use of Line
• Activity Using Shapes

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• Why this topic?

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• What do you feel when you see a circle,
• a square, a triangle, or a heart shape?

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• Do you feel same?

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• Do you feel same when seeing an object with soft
  gentle curves and when see another object with
  sharp jagged edges?

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• Shapes have very special meanings and are an
  important building blocks in the visual grammar
  and visual thinking.

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How designers use psychology of shapes?

• Shapes are essential elements in all design
  directions
• They can serve as components of a visual
  composition and a content organizing tool
• Helps in dividing or connecting design elements
  into groups 
• To make the sophisticated design, experts need to
  consider the meaning of shapes and the impact
  which they have on users mind.

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The Grammar of Shapes

• Shape by definition is a portion of space
  delimited by the perimeter.
• Shapes are two-dimensional areas with a
  recognizable boundary.
• They can be open or closed, angular or round, big
  or small.
• Shapes can be organic or inorganic.
• They can be free-form or geometric and ordered.

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How to Get a Shape?
Simple shapes can be combined to form complex
shapes. Complex shapes can be abstracted to make
simple shapes. For Instance, following given
basic geometric shapes can be used to create many
shapes.
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Shapes are powerful to give universal messages.
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The Line
Lines are the simplest yet the most important
element of Graphic Design. What is the Line? Line
is a section connecting 2 points.
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Adjectives of Line
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An Use of Line
You would be amazed how many things you can
communicate using just few lines.
Arrangement of lines is vital. It may help you to
lead the viewer to the basic concept of the work.
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An Use of Arrow in Real Design
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The Line Styles
Line can have variable width and styles such as
solid and dashed.
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The Line Types and Patterns
A pattern is something that repeats in a
design. Repetitive but still interesting.
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The Line Endings Type
The ending may be blunt, curved, and ragged.
Ragged
Curved
Blunt
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Use of Line
Lines can be used to create textures.
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Lines can be used to create shapes.
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Use of Line
Lines can be used to manage the followings
Connect Separate Organize Movement
Texture Convey a Mood or Emotion Define
Shapes Provide Emphasis
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1. Connect
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2. Separate
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Example of Separate
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3. Organize
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Why Shapes are Useful?

• The different characteristics of a shape convey
  different moods and meanings.
• Changing the characteristics of a shape alter how
  we perceive that shape and make us feel
  differently about a design.
• Shapes are a powerful way to communicate.

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The Use of Shapes

• Organize information through connection and
  separation
• Symbolize different ideas
• Create movement, texture, and depth
• Convey mood and emotion
• Emphasize and create entry points and areas of
  interest
• Lead the eye from one design element to the next

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Types of Shapes

• There are 3 basic types of shapes

Or Natural
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1. Geometric Shapes

• Geometric shapes are what most people think of as
  shapes.
• Circles, squares, triangles, diamonds are made up
  of regular patterns that are easily recognizable.
• This regularity suggests organization and
  efficiency. It suggests structure. Geometric
  shapes tend to be symmetrical further suggesting
  order.

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Examples
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2. Natural/ Organic Shapes

• They are irregular. They have more curves and are
  uneven. They tend to be pleasing and comforting.
• All of shapes found in nature such as leaves,
  rocks, and clouds are organic shapes and these
  shapes add interest and reinforce themes.

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• Often designers use natural shapes to improve and
  enrich the view of geometric shapes.

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3. Abstract Shapes

• Abstract shapes have a recognizable form, but are
  not real.
• They are stylized or simplified versions of
  organic shapes.
• Often the meaning behind such shapes is cultural
  (a red octagon as a stop sign).

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The Meaning of Shapes as Abstract
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Abstract Shapes Real Example
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4. Negative and Positive Shapes

• Shapes can be either positive or negative. They
  can be figure or they can be ground.
• The area around positive shapes, the background,
  is negative space.
• A solid piece of layout occupies space, and makes
  the space around it come to life.

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Role of Negative and Positive Shapes
Positive and negative space play an important
role in determining the overall composition in a
work of art.
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What are Positive and Negative Space?
Simply, positive space is best described as the
areas in a work of art that are the subjects, or
areas of interest. Negative space is area around
the subjects, or areas of interest.
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Mostly Negative Space
Balance of Positive and Negative space
MostlyPositive Space
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• Lets have a look on few Popular Shapes

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Circle or Circular Shapes
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• Circles have no beginning or end.
• They represent the eternal whole.
• Representing the sun, the earth, the moon, the
  universe, and other celestial objects between.
• Circles are used to suggest familiar objects such
  as wheels, balls, many kinds of fruit.
• They suggest well-roundness and completeness.

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Circles can be used in...

• Circles have free movement.
• They can roll.
• Circles are graceful and their curves are seen as
  feminine.
• They are warm, comforting and give a sense of
  sensuality and love.
• Their completeness suggests the infinite, unity,
  and harmony.

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Real Examples of the Use of Circles
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Circles as a big logo getting all the attention
to the studios name.
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Beautiful circular elements all over the
page. From foreground and background to
navigation buttons.
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Rectangle and Square Shapes
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• Squares and rectangles are stable.
• Theyre familiar and trusted shapes and suggest
  honesty.
• Rectangles are the most common geometric shape
  encountered.
• The majority of text we read is set in rectangles
  or squares.

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Where can be Used

• Squares and rectangles suggest conformity,
  peacefulness, solidity, security, and equality.
• They are generally not attention getters like
  circles.

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• All most all the texts presented to us are
  organized in squares and rectangles.

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Two squares framing the main content.
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Squared thumbs to organize content.
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Big framed rectangle showing a nice image,
getting the main attention of the page.
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Rectangles to organize and display content.
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Different sized rectangles to better organize
content.
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Combination of rectangle thumbnails and hover
effect to organize the content and create a nice
layout.
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Elegant grid layout based on rectangle thumbnails.
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Our eyes are drawn to the blocks because the
shapes and the colors are attractive and
interesting. Shape can certainly be one of the
strongest design elements.
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Triangle or Triangular Shapes
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• It expresses actions and dynamism.
• A triangle can convey either a sense of strength
  or conflict.
• It exudes strength, movement and the future.
• Triangles can be stable when sitting on their
  base or unstable when not.
• They represent dynamic tension, action, and
  aggression.
• Triangles have energy and power.
• They are balanced and can be a symbol for law,
  science, and religion.

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Uses of Triangular Shapes
Triangle Suggests
FUTURISTIC
ACTION
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Uses of Triangular Shapes

• Spiritually they represent the religious
  doctrines in many religions.
• The strength of triangles suggests masculinity.
• Triangles can be used to convey progression,
  direction, and purpose.
• Their dynamic nature make them better suited to a
  growing high tech company than a stable financial
  institution when designing a logo.

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Use of Triangles
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Spirals
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• 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.

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Uses of Spirals
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Use of Spirals

• 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.

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• Double spirals can be used to symbolize opposing
  forces.

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Use of Spirals in Background Making
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Use of Spirals in Vector Arts
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Use of Spiral in Nature
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Use of Spirals in Layouts
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Crosses
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• Crosses symbolize spirituality and healing.
• They are seen as the meeting place of energies.
• The 4 points of a cross represent self, nature,
  wisdom, and higher power.
• Crosses suggest transition, balance, faith,
  unity, temperance, hope, and life.

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Dont limited your creativity

• You are free to experiment with many shapes
• Make sure you dont use similar shapes in a design

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Tips to Use Shapes

• We use shapes to add 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.

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Tips for Using Shapes
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Tips for Using Shapes

• 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.
• Try to keep background shapes simple and large.
  Being large can help attract attention and
  simplicity can put the focus back to the
  foreground.
• Try to use few shapes where possible. Dont use 3
  or 4 shapes to communicate when one shape will
  do.
• Try to limit the number and size of shapes where
  possible for clarity in conveying your message.

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Activities on Shapes
Create a hard copy of poster/ chart (A2 size)
which explains all about the shapes in
detail. Topics can be taken yourself.
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Activity 1
Use paper, cloth, board anything to create 3
objects. Check the examples please.
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Activity 2
Play with stripes of any material and create a
conceptual background or theme.
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Activity 3
Create a greeting or invitation card.
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Activity 4
Pick a punchline or quote and present it.
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Activity 5
Designing of Abstract Backgrounds
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