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]
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan said 9:30PM on 8-08-2009
Isn't there a *much* more obvious reason one wouldn't want sharp corners on his portable computer, smartphone, monitor or other expensive, heavy and/or fragile piece of equipment?
Reply
Laura said 1:25AM on 8-09-2009
Round just doesn't fit in my pocket as well.
Reply
Ethan said 7:56AM on 8-09-2009
They make it look smaller.
Reply
blablabla said 10:03AM on 8-09-2009
Why would some company...pay some idiot...to write the above story ? That's the real mystery.
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Elio M Fernandez said 4:50PM on 8-09-2009
At my age of 75, and after hurting myself so many times
With sharp corners on my desk, cabinet doors and even
Door handles as well as the upper corner door of my wife's
Car, I, Am grateful that for whatever the reasons, Change is
On the way.
Furniture and cabinet manufacturers should be required
By insurance companies to round every corner during the
Manufactoring process.
Reply