Paper

Colonial printouts, photographs, videos, and data discs are rarely rectangular; the corners are trimmed at 45 degree angles, creating snub rectangles, i.e. octagons. This design choice developed out of discussions between production designer Richard Hudolin, Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and director Michael Rymer, who felt that cutting the corners of most documents was an easy way to make the look "a bit unconventional and unfamiliar" to audiences. The reasoning for this within the Colonial universe is likely based on their cultural aversion to right angles, as rectangles are, particularly for paper, more efficient from a practical standpoint.

This design choice is also evident in Colonial computer systems with windows and menus often having clipped corners.