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A key feature of many fifties modernist ceramic shapes is the compound curve, seen in the freeform wares of Poole, and the Hayward and Hallam vases for Beswick. Some shapes (e.g. Midwinter 'fashion') may have a 'melted', flowing look. The surfaces of freeform shapes are curved in different planes, which made them difficult to decorate by machine until new technologies came in. As a result, they were often handpainted.

Traditional plates with rims gave way to rimless coupe versions (as in the transition between Midwinter's stylecraft and fashion ranges in the mid-fifties). The boomerang is a classic motif in fifties ceramics (an example being the salad plates in Midwinter's fashion range). Another is the triangle with curved sides and rounded corners (as in the stand for the Poole twintone cruet set). However, this kind of triangle is also seen in traditional pieces (e.g. Carlton Ware's apple blossom from the late 30's)

By the early sixties, freeform pieces such as the outrageous Hayward and Hallam styles from Beswick, were looking over-the-top and outdated. As a reaction against this exuberance, a simpler, more restrained look came in. Items such as cups, vases and teapots, started to be made as straight-sided cylinders (as when David Queensberry introduced new shapes at Midwinter). In the 1980s, shapes remained symmetrical, but became more smooth, curvy and feminine.