Saturday, May 2, 2015

icons - The psychology of everyday shapes


We know a lot about colours and how they affect people, but what do we know about shapes? When choosing icons or logos, how do the shapes in them affect their perception?


Does anyone know of any research that has been done into the psychology of everyday shapes or have any experience with how people perceive them?


Edit: I mean perceive here more in terms of emotionally than in terms of meaning. Something like, how a square make us feel as opposed to a circle or a triangle.



Answer




In a nutshell, the evidence suggests that users see rounded shapes as more 'friendly' than sharp shapes, and that sharp shapes, appearing slightly dangerous, garner more attention.


Some go further and suggest that, as a rule, you should give almost all your divs and content rounded edges except for call-to-action buttons, which attract more attention when squared.


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