Communicating through Geometry
Geometry can be utilized as a tool to yield infinite possibilities in art and design, because geometry reveals the visual relationships of the essential qualities of life, from proportion, form, scale and pattern. It surrounds us at all times, mimicking nature through the measure and relationships of form; it’s the visualization of numbers and the equation for aesthetics. It’s the very foundation for visual coherence and visual structure in life. So is there no aesthetic problem that geometry can’t resolve, whether in architecture, photography, typography, religion, or any form of visual communication?
Presumably the answer to this question can be found by looking back to ancient history, where cultures used geometry in its most basic of forms to express devotion in art, religion, and science. On the other hand, the answer may lie hidden in the organic forms of nature; it’s no coincidence that geometry is a Greek word meaning earth measure. The answer could also be locked away in forms of sacred geometry, in the manifestations of religious structures and art, or better yet, in the Swiss movement and its gridded systems of type and typography, or embodied in the many systems of image rendering from the past to the present day. It’s also plausible that the answer lies in geometric pattern making. However, it’s most conceivable that the answer lies undiscovered, in the prospects of geometries future in visual communication. All of these assumptions are valid and deserve investigation to reveal the infinite potential embodied within the visualization of geometry.
The infinite possibility of geometry in visual communication doesn’t lie in geometry alone, it becomes powerful only when synthesized with one or multiple forms of tools, technology, and media. This can be justified by looking at the way triangulation, a process in trigonometry and geometry invented by the mathematician Boris Delaunay in 1934 for determining the location of points, was utilized by different visual communicators in different ways to create different forms of geometric visualization—all based on one geometric principle.
This exploration has yielded a greater understanding of the possibilities for communicating visually through geometry. Its ability to both rationalize and abstract the realities of life sets it apart from other forms of mathematics. Coupled with an ability to synthesize any medium, style, technique, or technology, it makes the case that there are no limits to geometry in visual communication.