From the course: Layout and Composition: Advanced Principles

Shape and line

From the course: Layout and Composition: Advanced Principles

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Shape and line

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- All composition and layout contains lines and shapes. There may be a singular form or hundreds. The concept, tone, and designer's vision will determine which type of shape creates the best visual solution. Shape and line are tools that not only communicate concept, a designer uses these forms to create a dynamic, bold, quiet, elegant, or raw composition. And shape is a representation of an object, person, or place. Or it's geometric, using a square, circle, triangle, or more complex geometry. It can be abstract with organic forms. Or a shape can be verbal using typography. Each of these is a tool employed to communicate a message. Representational shapes can be a fast and easy reading, such as this silhouette of a rooster for a logo icon. These are clear and allow the viewer to understand the image quickly and without confusion. A more obscure shape may take longer for the viewer to recognize, such as a stylized wedge of Swiss cheese. While this is not as easy to read, the viewer will spend more time determining what it is. This helps the viewer remember what he or she saw. The simplest geometric shapes are a circle, square, and triangle. You can combine them to create an image or use to direct the viewer around the page of the screen. These simple shapes make us comfortable. More complex shapes, such as an octagon or ellipse, ask the viewer to think a little harder. A designer using only one geometric shape exclusively on a project tends to create a solution that is harmonious. Abstract shapes, such as an amoeba or free-form shape, feel more organic, relating to the natural world. They have a sense of life and feel modern and engaging. These forms became popular after World War II as a response to the hard forms of weapons and destruction. That's why there are kidney-shaped coffee tables and amoeba forms on an advertisement. And finally, typographic shapes. Rather than thinking of typography as a difficult form to master, consider that typography is a picture of a word. It is a word made with shapes. The shape you use determines whether it is neutral or scary, fancy or literate. This might help when it's time to choose a typeface. What's the tone? How should the audience react? Shapes and line are not the concept or communication. They are the tools you use to convey the idea. Most good concepts will work with all of these types of shapes. I like to determine a concept, then play with it using each of these, a representational shape, geometric, abstract, and typographic. From these studies, one solution will seem more interesting and dynamic than the others. Of course, some of the others are dog ugly, but you won't know until you try it.

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