Graphic Designer's Essential Reference

Using Abstract Form

All pictorial form carries meaning—and that includes abstraction, or form that doesn’t represent anything we actually experience in real life. However, abstract form has the potential to convey stronger, more direct, and more universally understood messages, because it is a distilled representation of something that is real, so it can transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. Abstract images are also more open to interpretation, involving the audience and helping them to make deeper, richer connections; for this reason, abstraction can easily take on the role of symbol or metaphor more fluidly than representational images. Finally, the uniqueness and simplicity of abstraction deliver a powerfully memorable experience, building ...