Concept
Circle
Design
Spirituality & MythWhat does the circle symbolize?
The circle is the plane figure in which every point of the outline lies at the same distance from the center. In the Agency editorial it is also a symbol: Design.1 presents it as a sign of wholeness, unity and eternity, and as the starting point of the Vesica Piscis.
In short
In geometry, a circle is defined by a center and a radius, and its outline is the circumference. Because it has no beginning or end, it has long been read as an image of the whole and of the eternal. Design.1 uses both senses. Two circles with the same radius, each centered on the circumference of the other, form the Vesica Piscis; and a square pixel whose corners are rounded becomes a circle, which the article describes as a whole universe within itself.
Key facts
- What does the circle symbolize in the article?
- Wholeness, unity and eternity. The article says it is a geometric shape without any beginning or end and that it can represent the concept of existence as an unbroken and continuous cycle.
- What is the relation between the circle and the Vesica Piscis?
- The starting point of the Vesica Piscis is a single circle. The figure itself is formed by the intersection of two circles with the same radius, in which the center of each lies on the circumference of the other.
- Why does the article set round shapes against squared ones?
- Because, in its words, round things are organic and squared things are artificial and engineered. Nothing that comes from nature has perfect lines or equal sides.
What is a circle?
A circle is a closed plane figure whose outline, the circumference, is formed by all the points at the same distance from a center. That distance is the radius. Since the line of a circle returns to itself without corners, beginning or end, many traditions have used it as a symbol of totality, of cycles and of eternity. In design it is one of the basic shapes from which more complex figures are built.
How does the circle appear in the Agency editorial?
Design.1 reaches the circle through its allegory of the deviant pixel. The pixel was a square, because it had to fit the composition; rounding its corners was the designers' touch. Stripped of its purple filling and left as an outline, it becomes a circle, and the article pauses to say what a circle is often regarded as: a symbol of wholeness, unity and eternity.
From there the article builds the Vesica Piscis. Its starting point is a single circle; when the pixel stretches and duplicates itself, two circles intersect, and the article names the area they share the Eureka zone. The circle thus stands at the beginning of what the subtitle of the section calls the mother of all forms.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
Also from these editions: concepts
Also from these editions: terms
Related concepts
- Deviant PixelThe deviant pixel is the allegory at the center of the Agency editorial Design.1: one pixel that rebels, detaches from a photograph of an anemone to pursue its own…
- Vesica PiscisThe Vesica Piscis is a sacred geometric figure formed by the intersection of two congruent circles whose centers each sit on the circumference of the other. Historically…