Corners ~ rounded or not

[Melooon]

Today I'm thinking about corners 


Some corners are rounded and some are not; the main theme of this forum is not rounded at all, but many parts of the web are rounded - sites like google almost exclusively use rounded corners.

I think people have a strong response to rounding and what it does to our experience of a space. Corners are filled with mystery and the unknown, while rounded corners are safe and do not hide anything.

In our homes, places with many corners are often haunted or forgotten (like attics or the space behind book shelves); on the other hand we go out of our way to ensure that things we want to perceive as clean are rounded (like toilets and kitchen utensils).

There are pros and cons to both:
Sharp corners:

• Roomy and re-definable
• Allow you to hide
• Mysterious and intriguing
• Unclean or abandond
• Incomplete or unpolished
• Sharp or dangerous

Rounded corners

• Soft and secure
• Well defined and whole
• Polished or complete
• Claustrophobic
• Do not allow you to hide
• False security

I would like to hear about your thoughts on corners, how do you use them in your web design and how do they make you feel?

[holly]

Typically in software design, the applications that use UI that emphasizes visual comfort, stay simple. In MacOS typically developers try to fit the Mac style of application, hiding a lot of more niche features in nested menus. I personally love round and pretty UI, makes it reflect a part of my personality in a way. Windows however is maximalist, typically if you were a power-user in Mac there is a heavy reliance on keybinds and CLI automation for your niche actions, Windows applications however seem to hide their keybinds religiously, and the Windows Terminal is not a place to call home. Windows applications end up feeling more boxy and corporate, having to cram everything you could need at once. One example is Microsoft Office 360 products, almost everything you can do is at the top of your screen at all times. I hate this. It would be essentially the same and feel nicer to use if they just hid it in some popout menu with a keybind, but Windows also has a weird relationship with applications having floating windows. Their boxy design only supports looking good maximized, taking up the whole screen, why would you ever have windows floating around unmaximized when its genuinely difficult to maintain from how I remember. MacOS purposefully makes it sort of difficult to fully maximize a window, and seems to actively encourage a floater window style of computer use. And with their rounded appearance it feels good, it doesn't cause anxiety the way an un-maximized windows app does. KDE Plasma linux distros are square and also has a window system like MacOS but it still feels like "programmer art" to me. These are all my personal observations obviously, I hope anyone can agree lol.

When making a website, adding border-radius to everything just tickles my brain :3

[Melooon]

These are all my personal observations obviously

So this is a really interesting comment because it sounds like you're thinking about windows and boxes from an outside-in perspective; your thinking about how rounded shapes interact with the space around them.

I think for me, I was really thinking from an inside-out perspective when making my pro's and con's; e.g. what its like to be inside the box.

That's a good expansion of the overall topic and worth highlighting; I'm curious how many people default to an inside-out view or an outside-in view and how that changes your opinions on corners too!

[holly]

My thought comes from like the general experience of actually using a UI, how it interacts with my brain really. I think rounded corners inherently shows intent, if for instance a boxy website fills their styling with other intentional artsy decisions, it realistically doesn't matter and only adds to the overall experience.

I think for me, I was really thinking from an inside-out perspective when making my pro's and con's; e.g. what its like to be inside the box.

This is very true, like a boxy website still looks beautiful and feels comfortable if i'm looking at it in a browser with rounded corners. Rounded corners kind of cascade into a certain design philosophy, like you need some thick margins, and the white space might work in your favor. I wouldn't doubt in massive corporations brand identity guide that they have specific instructions on the exact radius they need on their website buttons/ icons/ design elements, Google definitely does. I've kind of always loved the like "squircle" design of icons for Samsung phones, it really has its own feeling to it.
The Operating System GUI UI is sort of important to me in that way as it regulates your entire experience with a computer. Creatives in industry likely prefer MacOS because of the UX comfort, not necessarily because of its rounded corners but I would say because the alternative, Windows feels claustrophobic in comparison because of its boxy appearance.

[Rosaria Delacroix]

I generally prefer slightly rounded off edges, as I feel it makes it more inviting. To me, rounded off corners feel cuter, softer, and a little more playfully childish, likely because all of the blog themes I grew up with on Tumblr that had rounded bubbles and accents were pastel and adorable, whereas sharper edges with a darker or monotone color palette tended to aspire towards something more mature, and broodingly sophisticated. I also think its likely because I find round plushies super adorable, and they tend to be quite circular if you look at the ones in my collection that I like to hold.

It also invokes a sense of safety for me, because despite being biologically female, I'm a hemophiliac (due to a very rare double genetic defect, the hemorrhagic disorder is inherited in an X-linked recessive manner, both of my alleles on my X chromosomes are defective.) As a result, even a tiny papercut can lead to terrifying blood loss- the tiny injection site for vaccination needles will bleed profusely for roughly twenty four hours with pressure, nosebleeds can fill up sinks, a deep cut smaller than my fingernail on my hand put me into life threatening hemorrhagic shock- all of that context is to paint the picture that life with my genetic disorder is, well, quite scary. So anything that minimizes the risk of cuts or scrapes is fantastic, and makes me feel much safer.

My favourite model of notebooks, the hardcover A5 Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, have rounded off edges: both for their covers, and the pages. I've never jabbed myself in the hand with the cover while rummaging around in my purse or bag, or sliced open my fingertips on the sharp corners nicking the tip of my fingers or getting caught under my nails like often happens with reading books, or using other journals. It relaxes me when I need to pull it out to write in, or if I'm flicking through the pages- I'm not as worried about cutting myself. My journals are a safe space in general for me, and so that feeling of warmth and coziness transfers over to their general design- being all round and softened at the edges.

[holly]

also just remembered that like the operating systems made by microsoft that were generally praised by people on the internet was Windows XP & Windows 7, both with very very distinct UI design, the designs just seeped personality and really set corner stones in the past eras on the computer. They have rounded corners in those versions?? they were so cushioned and soft, they felt like home. they literally got rid of them and it really does reek of corporate edge, like this is the kind of design change that makes the desk job work man go insane with normality and discomfort for profit.
Genuinely kind of a deep topic on UI for rounded corners and its associations with comfort and other human feelings. I believe a lot of hearts are round, and it feels like home.

[wygolvillage]

Depends on the page to me. Rounded works better for something cutesy, clean or sleek whereas sharp feels more utilitarian, but also more personable...?

[KiwiMeowo]

When designing my pages, I tend to prefer rounded edges.

I generally prefer slightly rounded off edges, as I feel it makes it more inviting. To me, rounded off corners feel cuter, softer, and a little more playfully childish, likely because all of the blog themes I grew up with on Tumblr that had rounded bubbles and accents were pastel and adorable, whereas sharper edges with a darker or monotone color palette tended to aspire towards something more mature, and broodingly sophisticated. I also think its likely because I find round plushies super adorable, and they tend to be quite circular if you look at the ones in my collection that I like to hold.

I also feel similarly. I enjoy creating things that are softer, it just feels more comfortable to me. It's like sanding a wooden craft, it feels safer and more polished, when I add boxes and stuff in my pages, I only feel like it's complete when I add rounded edges to them.

Thinking about border-radius, I usually prefer just adding 7.5px (often for containers) or 5px (often for inner contents, like images), these two are the perfect values in my opinion, any more than that would feel like it's too much.

[larvapuppy]

I hear all your arguments for rounded corners being safer and more cozy, but I would like to raise an important point.

When 4 rounded corners meet one another, These Guys are created:



See that little shape in the center of the four boxes? Who is he? He's never introduced himself, and yet he keeps showing up everywhere. Should we really be trusting him with our precious websites? With our sweet, innocent files? 

Even worse, the more rounded corners I create, the more of these guys decide to show up. Plus, as the corners get rounder, these strange fellows get even bigger! Perplexing to say the least!

You can see that the problem is solved when we remove the rounded corners. I for one would like to recommend that we stick to square corners until someone gets to the bottom of this mystery.

Spoiler

In all seriousness, both styles are great and I like to mix and match them on my site. I know when you learn design you are taught that we think of roundness as friendly and squareness as more strict/harsh. But, I don't really associate corners strongly with any of the feelings described here. I personally think rounded corners feel more modern and squared off corners are classic.

[close]

[TheFrugalGamer]

These general sentiments explain why when I designed my site, I went with the rounded corners (my preferred rounding is 16px, btw), because to me it seemed cozy, and that's the vibe I was going for.

Oddly, when I was designing my fake desktop, which I also wanted to be cozy, I went with the squared corners instead, but I kept the warm colors and took a number of design elements from older systems in order to evoke nostalgia.

When I think of square corners, I think of precision and math, even though we use it with both rounded and square corners equally. At the same time, I feel like I could go crazy thinking about the best way to fit all of these elements together and making sure they're all even and well proportioned.