# Round avatars in topic list? **URL:** \ **Category:** UX\ **Created:** [2015年四月2日 07:16 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/round-avatars-in-topic-list/27098 "2015-04-02T07:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 13
**Author:** ![awesomerobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/awesomerobot/32/142900_2.png) [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)\ **Post date:** [2015年四月2日 17:52 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/round-avatars-in-topic-list/27098/13 "2015-04-02T17:52:56Z")
@codinghorror hit the main benefits pretty well I’m all in on rounded avatars and agree with some other voices here: it’s all or nothing; adding more inconsistency to the core is a bad idea. Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons (are there any non-subjective cons other than cutting off image corners?) There’s also [a bit of scientific data](http://uxmovement.com/thinking/why-rounded-corners-are-easier-on-the-eyes/) to back it up (though, this type of stuff can be debated infinitely) How’s this for a quote: > perceived salience of a corner varies linearly with the angle of the corner. Sharp angles generated stronger illusory salience than shallow angles As the article I linked clarified: hard corners stand out more. Avatars are important; buttons are important-er. So I think creating the contrast between the two is worth it. As mentioned, most avatars are faces of some kind… this is an eye-tracking example done on an advertisement, but it’s generally known that humans prioritize the face versus whatever is around the face. I don’t think we’d be losing much by ditching corners! ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/2/6/26d53d14e794ffab1d252b9eeedf0892e4412353.png) You’ll also find people who will speculate that image squareness is dictated by technology constraints (ease of film and screen manufacturing) and naturally our field of vision is round-ish anyway… but then we can start getting really philosophical and what can be more bikesheddy than that? 🚲 --- _[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/round-avatars-in-topic-list/27098)._