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Why Are Rectangles With Rounded Corners So Popular?

by Terrence O'Brien on August 8, 2009 at 05:06 PM

Why Are Rectangles with Rounded Corners So Popular?

Have you ever taken the time to notice the prevalence of rectangles with rounded corners in the world of technology? They're everywhere: your PC casing, the GUI on your OS, your iPod, etc. They even find plenty of uses outside of technology, including the no-parking sign, which, according to legend, inspired Steve Jobs and designer Bill Atkinson when developing the Macintosh interface.

Keith Lang, who blogs at UI & Us, wondered why it is that we find rectangles with rounded corners (or RoundedRects as they're sometimes called) so appealing. There is the idea that there are synesthetic associations of safety and friendliness with the rounded shapes, but Lang wondered if there was more to it. What if RoundedRects were literally 'easier on the eyes?' Lang asked Professor Jürg Nänni, who wrote 'Visual Perception,' a book detailing the science behind visual cognition: "Could rounded rectangles actually take less effort to see?"

Nänni's response? Yes, our brains and eyes actually work less to recognize a rounded rectangle than they do a traditional one with sharp corners. Commenters on social news site, Reddit, are beating up on the theory, so this isn't the definitive word on the matter. Maybe we, like our Battlestar Galactica brethren, are just tired of sharp corners? All the same, it's an interesting notion, and there's no denying the predominance of the RoundedRect. Check out the gallery below for some examples of "friendly" rectangles. [From: UI and Us, via Neatorama]

RoundedRects


Tags: design, industrial design, IndustrialDesign, rounded rectangles, RoundedRectangles, roundedrects, top

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