The Psychology of Colors & Shapes

The world around us is filled with designs. We see them everyday in our lives and yet we don’t notice them all. However, only a few of them get to catch our eye. Why is that? Design is what influences us to purchase a product or service. A design can have a profound effect on how we perceive and feel the world, as well as on the way we make decisions. Design is a form of art communication practiced for centuries through cravings, shapes, colors,  & typography. Psychology of colors and shapes seems to be perceive from ancient times.

To create stories, compositions, identities, products and experiences. Besides, let’s agree to  the fact that these ancient designs are proof of human civilization and their lifestyle. We are consciously unaware of several ways that designs evoke emotions in us. Since design communicates in different forms, it is important to know and understand the psychology of human behavior to hit the desired target audience. Therefore let’s understand the psychology of different colors and shapes that plays a major role in influencing people.

Psychology of Shapes in Graphic Designing

Our subconscious brain is wired in a form that it is capable of deriving different meaning out of the different shapes. In the field of graphic designing, shapes play a vital role as elements used in logo design and other diverse forms of compositions. Let’s discover which shapes define which features.

Triangle:

Triangles are three lines joined together, making three points. This shape can be perceive as sharp, edgy & powerful. Because of such characteristics your brain will understand the power of design. To understand this more clearly, the best example of triangles showing power can be The Great Pyramids of Giza. Due to the size of it, it shows the symbolism. If your client has a vision of showing power, masculinity or stability, triangle as a shape can be the best choice.

Circles:

Speaking of a circle, it has no end nor the beginning. This shape is friendly or non dangerous shapes. For example, if you remember a cartoon called “Oswald”, you may recall that the cartoon character Oswald was in circle shape and was friendly by nature. The curve is generally more feminine shape compare to its sharp-angle counterpart. Circles and spheres can also be associated with the world we live in and the circle of life, how birth and death is life. Therefore, they represent community and unity. Using rounded corners and circular shapes in typefaces can make a text feel more aesthetically pleasing and friendly. Hence, often companies uses circular shapes in their logo to symbolize security, continuity, and protection.

Squares and Rectangles:

Squares and rectangles showcases, stability, strong, professional & balanced. If you recall the famous cartoon, “SpongeBob” you will notice that he was in rectangle shape. Which perceived the friendliness, balance and stable character as a cartoon. This way, if companies want to portray a sense of reliability to their audience and professionalism. 

Psychology of Colors in Graphic Designing

Colors play a major role in graphic designing as well as in psychology of colors and shapes. The field is all about playing with colors. Moreover colors impact our mind emotionally in different ways. Imagine making a design without using any colors. How will it create an impact on the audience’s mind regardless of how strong your design is? Hard to imagine right. Hence, color and design are most important. Colors affect how a design looks and feels: they can make it look cheap, expensive, artisanal, organic, or other. Colors influence us physically as well as psychologically. Our appetite get affect, we can become calm or agitated, and they can even raise our blood pressure. It is possible to learn the meaning of a color or to be biologically able to sense it and the meaning can vary depending on the color’s shades.

But on the contrary of popular theory, colors don’t have one symbolism. It depends upon the situation we are seeing. For example: while waiting at a cross, the traffic light turns red which indicates us to stop and green indicates to go forward. On the other hand, red indicates love, compassion and affection whereas green indicates nature, greenery or environment. Color symbolism totally depends on the situation we are in. Moreover, color does have some constant beliefs on emotion. Blue color affects our mind with calmness, yellow color indicates alertness, awareness and more. There are many colors with different symbolism of emotion, we have to judge according to the situation. If a company wants their logo design to be in blue color, this indicates that they are reliable & friendly, confident and successful. Where black logo indicates boldness, authority, sophistication and glamor.