Round

Things used to be round. At least rounded. There were a lot more knobs. Buttons can still be round but they tend to be configured in a rectangular space.

Dials were round and they were everywhere, Hoola Hoops, car headlights, in fact most things about a car had a curve to it. The fenders were rounded, the tail lights, the rear view mirrors, at least the ones on the outside the chrome bumpers, the dials, speedometer, radio, gages, you name it. Records were round and CDs still are I suppose. Food packaging like Quaker Oats, salt, milk bottles. Silverware, hairbrush handles, all kinds of handles, just about everything, was curved or rounded. It was a sign of sophistication. Rough hewn things were squared off because they were simply made, proper, polished things were molded to fit our hands and were generally rounded off, like the handles on your dresser drawers, no one wanted a square knob, it didn't make sense. It would be uncomfortable to hold. The radio you listened to had rounded corners and round knobs and a round dial. It looked nice. The circle is the perfect shape and designers worked it into just about everything they could. Light bulbs, door knobs, ketchup bottles, drains, telescopes and the wheel. Clocks were round, it only made sense. The world worked in circles, compasses, planets, seasons, time, lives… nature loved the circle.

Even the most popular women were rounder than the most popular women of today.

The very term square, was a derogatory term. Nobody wanted to be considered a square.

And then something changed. Angular equaled modern. I’m not sure exactly when. Maybe it was architecture. Skyscrapers began to be long horizontal boxes standing on end. There had always been the golden rectangle, that’s why the Parthenon looks the way it does. It’s another perfect in mathematics. But the new look isn’t the golden rectangle. It began to be a low rectangle. Something like a third of golden rectangle. Maybe it was Frank Lloyd Wright and Falling Water. Maybe it was just that it’s generally cheaper to make things square than round but we’ve never gone back. Look at cars. The lower the rectangle the more stylish it is. If something has rounded fenders they call it “Retro”. It didn’t help that they found out that certain flat shapes are harder to detect on radar than other shapes and jet fighters started to have that odd flat paneled look. Now we have stealth Cadillacs.

Look at your electronics. All low and flat. Look at your phone. Are there any ergonomics there? Nope. Low and flat. Ever hold an old phone? It curved around so that the earpiece was where your ear was and the microphone was where your mouth was. What a concept! It’s no wonder people shout when they use cell phones, they aren’t designed to work well, just to look good. I’m not suggesting we go back to dial telephones, buttons are certainly an improvement, but there are a lot of things out there passing themselves off as improvements when they are just change.

I’m not sure why we turned against the circle but it’s been fifty years or so and we haven’t turned back yet. Things just aren’t as round as they used to be. It’s square to be round. Maybe it’s just a cycle and … oh yeah, that would be uncool.