Although these small sketches are larger than a thumbnail, the idea is to get as many ideas down on paper as quickly as possible. See some examples in the text page 279. 1. How Shapes Affect Layout When creating thumbnail sketches, represent the elements of your layout with shapes. Shapes play an important part in the image your advertising creates.
Some shapes are formal while others are informal.
Squares, rectangles, ellipses and circles are formal. In lay-outs, they are static elements because they don't point the reader's eye to any particular direction. On the other hand, triangles, polygons, amoebas and irregular shapes are informal. The square is one of the most common design shapes. Most body copy, framed graphics and some unedited photographs form squares or rectangles.