"Rectangles with rounded corners are everywhere! Just look around this room!". And sure enough, there were lots of them, like the whiteboard and some of the desks and tables. Then he pointed out the window. "And look outside, there's even more, practically everywhere you look!". He even persuaded Bill to take a quick walk around the block with him, pointing out every rectangle with rounded corners that he could find.

When Steve and Bill passed a no-parking sign with rounded corners, it did the trick. "OK, I give up", Bill pleaded. "I'll see if it's as hard as I thought."

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Round_Rects_Are_E...

Interesting example of Steve Jobs' leadership style that doesn't revolve around him being an asshole. Also, given how prevalent round rects were in classic Mac system software, surprising to consider they almost weren't possible on early systems.

Amazing, the cleverness once required to create things we now take for granted.

Moreover, looking at a lot of rounded rectangles will have the same effect that the examples in the linked article did. You'll notice that objects with them are more appealing than their counterparts.

In many cases it suggests that leaving a sharp corner, such as on a table, would risk injury to some users. But in general, that something took extra work, says nothing about the rationale behind it. Maybe it's a way of showing off skills; I've certainly seen that in code , where the people did something the hard way for reasons other than "this is what is best for this situation."

Moreover, looking at a lot of rounded rectangles will have the same effect that the examples in the linked article did. You'll notice that objects with them are more appealing than their counterparts.

What I notice is that sometimes they are appropriate, sometimes not. They are not universally appealing.

In many cases they give things an inappropriately childish (childlike?) feeling.

I would suggest having it round in both directions and removing the bottom edge of the 'triangle', so that it looks more like a curly brace. I'm not sure though, that might look weird or too cute.

Letter and layout create space with edge and curve.

One big graphical language..

The round ones were distracting, especially the rounded arrows. I also found the pointy circle much nicer to look at.

With sharp corners you have 4 things to look at and process - each line. With the rounded ones you have 4 lines, 8 spots where a line changes into a curve, and 4 curves.

At least that's how my eyes do it - they notice the curve for each corner and that wastes time.

I also find it ironic that in the example diagram they use to compare squared vs. rounded corners, they use squared corners on the A, B, and C boxes, implicitly acknowledging that they are more appropriate than rounded corners in this case.

  4 lines and 4 corners

  4 lines, 8 spots where line changes to curve and 4 curves

Or take Microsoft's or anyone's tile UI for instance. I think the tile UI gives a feel of simplicity. If the tiles were rounded, would it really be easier on the eye?

Likewise, I think the soft edges in the python and ruby syntax are more pleasant, and I find it irritating to switch between python and sharp-edged languages such as JavaScript }{ -- this may be one of the reasons lisp is so beloved :)

http://uxmovement.com/navigation/designing-tab-navigation-th...

I was happily surprised as this was a pretty good read with some interesting references (with criticisms as well). I hope the articles keep improving!

There's a title that says we're "hard-wired" for rc. Then makes claim that our aversion to corners is a result of socialisation (i.e. not hard-wired). The case is simply ridiculous. Do parents not mind when we play with jelly-fish, but get upset when we eat sandwiches? Do schools round the corners on textbooks lest children suffer physical or emotional damage from those nasty sharp corners?

There's no substance here, just vague claims and circular citations.

Would you trust your child with a beachball or a scissors... really?

Can't believe people can even follow such thoughs. wow.

Sharp corners on the other hand are more like "I'll cut you if you come near me."

Perhaps this means that one can constrain user by placing sharp corners on contextually unavailable objects, and rounded corners on available objects.

Speaking in terms of progressive disclosure, one can animate sharpness of the corners depending on if the users need to interact with the info inside of the corners.

Then it's more like "oh, ok, now I won't cut you -- you're cool, boxes around me told me that, come enter me".