What do rectangles symbolize

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.

Now triangles are an interesting shape as they can be viewed differently depending on if their sides are equal or different in length, whether they are sitting on their base or unstable when not.

Triangles have energy and power associated with them as they can point out direction, depending on where their base is placed. Triangles can give a feeling of action, tension or even aggression. On the one hand, they can symbolise strength while on the other, conflict.

Triangles are seen as more of a masculine shape. Power, progression, purpose and direction are all represented by the triangle. We see triangles in pyramids and arrows, not to mention their religious connections especially to the holy trinity. These rounded shapes tend to send a positive emotional message of harmony and protection.

The circle is often used in a logo to represent unity, commitment, love or community. Curves in general when used in shapes tend to be viewed as feminine in nature while straight lined shapes are more masculine.

Circles have no beginning or end, they represent life and the lifecycle. The circle along with the oval is readily found in nature with the sun, moon and earth, not to mention fruit and flowers. Circles have a free sense of movement — wheels, balls, merry go rounds. This is why it is useful to sort shapes into overarching categories that share meanings as groups.

Another concern for designers is how shapes are formed. If everything is a shape, how does one decide where one shape ends and another begins? In simple drawings, shapes are usually defined by outline or color. In real life, shapes are defined by light and shadow, and painters often use this approach for three-dimensional realism. Even objects that are not explicitly connected can form unified shapes.

The most obvious example is text: even if the letters are separate, an entire paragraph can form a unified shape due to the design principles of proximity and contrast against a neutral background. A justified alignment of text will create paragraph squares whereas a centered alignment will create an organic, free-flowing shape. While shapes in general are the building blocks to the visual world, squares and their sibling, rectangles are literal blocks.

As such, we typically associate them with stability. They remind us of skyscrapers and tall buildings, especially when stacked. They also tend to imply weight and immovability. Like buildings, you expect squares to stand firm.

In terms of personality, squares can imply both reliability and sternness. Circles are the near opposite of squares: their roundness implies that they are always on the move, hard to pin down. Where squares are strong as bricks, circles can be light as bubbles or clouds. They remind us of a wheel or a bouncing ball. They have no sharp edges, which makes them appear friendly. All of this gives them a joyful, almost mischievous personality, and they are commonly found in designs aimed at children.

Despite this, circles are not all immaturity: the fact that they have no beginning or end leads them to be associated with lofty concepts such as eternity or recurring cycles, as in the rising and setting of the sun. As such, they inherently imply danger. At the same time, the points are literally pointing, and we are used to seeing triangles in directional contexts, such as compasses or maps. Likewise, many ancient triangular structures such as pyramids and ziggurats are believed to have been built with the implication of reaching towards heaven.

This can lend triangles an air of divine guidance, depending on the context. Organic shapes share many properties with circles as they tend to be characterized by curving lines. Returning to the heart example, the two curves at the top display the cheerfulness of circle while the triangular bottom adds the risky excitement of a downward-facing triangle joy mixed with risk — sounds like romance to me!

You can even personalize your own depiction of the heart by sharpening or widening the sharp angles to create a frighteningly sharp heart or a more plump and playful circular heart. Instead, designers are free to invent entirely new shapes — whatever they need to serve their purposes. Do be afraid to create your own abstract shapes. When using abstract shapes, however, keep in mind that the individual aspects you use retain their symbolism from their original shapes.

What that means is, if you use the top-half of a circle and the bottom half of a square, you will create an abstract shape that exhibits both the playful features of a circle and the serious features of a square. Like the square with rounded corners we mentioned above, you can craft an abstract shape to meet whatever needs you may have. Maybe you want to create something the world has never seen before in order to stand out from the crowd.

As long as you know what traits you want to keep — in the example above, ERM Power wanted to keep the zestiness of curvaceous lines and the duality of intersecting crosses — you can pick and choose which aspects of individual shapes to use.

Alternatively, you can maximize the effect of a single shape by repeating it. Cloud shapes, with repetitive curves one after another, come off as more playful than an individual circle alone. Repeating shapes essentially accents the characteristics of that shape by overlapping it on itself.

Another idea is to use secondary shapes to create primary shape. For example, an upward facing triangle built entirely out of parallel vertical lines combines the aggressively dominating characters of both to take the effect to heights neither could reach on its own. Therein lies the true art of graphic design. In the Fotor online design tool , you have the options for either designing off of premade templates or creating your own unique shapes.

Particularly useful in logo design, our logo template features 39 professionally designed logos to use as a jumping off point. Reshape them, add to them, tweak them, rearrange them, and make them your own. To get an even greater handle on how to make a logo, read our complete logo design guide. Here, a professional designer teaches you the basics of logo design and also runs through how to create a logo yourself step by step.

Using original shapes is as easy as choosing the one you want and dragging it on the canvas. The shape in almost any form is related to masculine ideas because of strength. Most common uses for triangles in design projects are as directional or navigation tools. Triangles are often small in relationship to the canvas and can sometimes be used in a block-style grouping to create a dynamic image or background theme.

Triangles are closed shapes, made of three intersecting lines. While most people will immediately connect a cross shape to religion, that is not the only meaning.

Crosses also symbolize health, hope and balance. Vertically-oriented crosses are thought of as strong, while horizontal options are more peaceful. The shape is mostly open, but can be connected to other shapes for a more closed feel.

The female symbol is a common example. Just like a doodle, a spiral is a creative and free-flowing shape. The spiral has religious association as well and creates a connection to cycles of life or time or seasons. The looped shape also has some connections to mysticism. Some of the oldest references to the shape conclude that a spiral represents the unveiling of hidden knowledge or information. Some say that the direction of a spiral can have implied meaning as well — clockwise spirals can imply intent while a counterclockwise spiral implies fulfillment.

Multiple spirals can oppose each other and create a sense of conflict. Curves are the most free-flowing of all the shape options. The shape is associated with movement, pleasure and generosity. Curves add a hint of the unexpected to something common. Curves can also be added to other shapes for richer meanings. It is a popular technique to add curved edges to a square when creating an icon, for example.