displaysshape

Displayshape refers to the geometric silhouette of a display device’s visible area and its boundary, including the active screen, surrounding bezel, and any curvature or cutouts such as notches. The concept is used across hardware design, manufacturing, and content layout to account for how a device’s physical shape constrains rendering, interaction, and presentation. Displayshape varies across devices—from traditional rectangular panels with sharp corners to devices with rounded corners, curved surfaces, or foldable form factors.

The shape is described by parameters such as the bounding rectangle (width and height), corner radius, curvature radius of curved panels, screen-to-body ratio, and the location and size of cutouts. For foldable or rollable devices, shape may be dynamic, changing with hinge angle or extension state. Designers also consider safe areas and content insets to keep UI elements within visible regions and avoid occlusion by hardware features.

Impact and applications: In software and UI design, displayshape informs layout grids, safe areas, and edge rendering. It influences app design guidelines, video and image composition, and accessibility considerations by helping ensure content remains visible and unobstructed. In manufacturing and marketing, the shape affects enclosure design, casing tolerances, and product photography.

Examples and trends: The term is commonly used in industrial design, CAD workflows, and device specification documents. Modern mobile devices increasingly feature bezel-less or curved-edge displays, while foldables present multiple shapes depending on state. In signage and public displays, the shape affects content cropping, viewing distance, and mounting.

See also: aspect ratio, bezel, safe area, display cutout, curved display, foldable display.