The Unexpected Benefits of Great Design

Sometime last year, I came across a discipline known as BioGeometry and it completely blew my mind open in terms of what was possible with art, design, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

BioGeometry is a science that has qualitatively proven the tangible health effects of organizing shape and sounds in our environment. It turns out, “making things look good” has many positive effects on our nervous system, our physical and energetic bodies, and consequently our mental health.

“BioGeometry is a science that deals with the Energy of Shape; it uses shapes, colours, motion, orientation, and sound to produce a vibrational quality that balances energy fields. BioGeometrical shapes are two or three-dimensional shapes specially designed to interact with the earth’s energy fields to produce balancing effects on multiple levels on biological systems. They were developed and patented by Dr. Ibrahim F. Karim, D.Sc. in Cairo, Egypt, during research since 1968.”

The way we choose to organize shapes in our environment harmonizes our bodies’ energy fields, for better or worse. This is a well studied phenomenon in architectural design. A space with plenty of natural light, plants, wooden and raw stone surfaces, ethically and naturally sourced textiles will have a very different effect on the psyche compared to concrete walls, linoleum flooring, and fluorescent lights. Whether or not you are aware of it, your body will react very differently depending on its environment.

I believe the concepts harmonizing our bodies through shape and texture can be applied to graphic design and visual arts as well, again, both positively and negatively.

There is something very deep happening in the creation of visual art and design that most people are not aware of. To make art is to be attracted to a certain level of harmony and to seek to replicate that sensation of wholeness in the world around you. Wholeness is that state where all of the pieces present fit together, like an orchestra where all of the instruments are perfectly synchronized.

In Ibrahim Karim’s book “Biogeometry: Back to a Future for Mankind”, he speaks on boundaries of form and draws parallels between ancient architecture, observing the horizon where the sky meets the ocean, and the spiritual nature of puzzles. When boundary lines meet, whether it’s the decorative roof of an ancient temple interlocking with the sky or the joining of two puzzle pieces in just the right way, a powerful emanation is created that sends the individual in a profoundly peaceful and meditative state, be it just for a moment (114).

When we apply these principles of boundaries and interlocking shapes to graphic design and the world of branding, the reasons behind certain aesthetic and expressive decisions have been made become much more clear. That wave of awe and inner peace that is felt when entering a temple can be replicated within a visual identity system for an organization through the precise and intentional organization of shapes, lines, and color.

Holy words, places, people, and objects act as reminders of the possibilities of wholeness that enveloped within the fractal nature of our lives. This wholeness of form is the universal balm that, in contemporary psychological terms, relieves stress and regulates the nervous system, allowing space for the healing of the mind and body.

When I do brand design work for others, I gather a massive amount of information on the client’s hopes, dreams, desires, visions, and goals, and turn it into a digital temple that can be accessed visually through shapes, lines, words, and texture. It is a special moment of union that forms a unique vehicle that will gracefully carry the client to their next destination.