Shapes are the building blocks of design, giving recognizable form and structure to otherwise empty or ambiguous space. We usually think of shapes as being bounded by an edge contour. However, we can also divide objects and images into implied shapes based on visual properties such as value or color, or on the basis of conceptual qualities such as function or completeness. (I can see my arm as a separate shape from my body even though there is not a line that separates them.) Shapes satisfy our human need to create order by distinguishing parts and establishing wholes.
