By using uniques geometric shapes for elements in writing the chemical structures can prove most helpful to students when balancing equations and determing molecular shapes. By letting a shape represent the number of bonds for an element it becomes easier to visualize a molecule's geometry in space and by introducing a color coordination scheme it can also aid in charge separations as well as easily identifying different elements quickly in larger molecules like chlorophyll, RNA, DNA, vitamins, etc.It can also aid in model building . Carbon, for example most usually has four bonds and thus can be represented by a diamond shape with four corners and would be colored black (coincidentally carbon is the element that constitutes diamonds and by designating it with a black color associates it with charcoal, soot, etc.), Nitrogen most usually has three bonds and can be represented by a right triangle (and colored blue) where as the group 3 elements (boron, aluminum, etc) are represented with an isosceles triangle (colored brown). Group 6 (oxygen, silicon, etc.) are given a round shape with two lines protruding out for the two bonds most commonly used for the oxidation states of -2  (most often attributed to oxygen and given a green color). Hydrogen and group 1 elements are drawn with small red circles.Group 2 elements with two bonds are given shapes like a football to show bonds on opposite sides like magnesium fluoride that s the fluorides on opposite sides of the centered magnesium (and are given an orangish brown color). Halogens with the many oxidation states for oxyacids are designated by a square shape with a line protruding from one of the corners for the single bonds (two lines for oxygens bound in the oxyacids from each corner, and are colored a dark bluish violet color). Phosphorus with an oxidation state like in phosphate can have five bonds so is represented by a five pointed orange colored star shape. Sulfur in a sulfate is colored yellow with a six pointed 'Star of David' shape (and again sulfur is yellow in its elemental form...) Also lone electron pairs can be drawn that resemble an alien.

Using a new 'Periodic Table of Shapes' to aid in bonding geometry and stoichiometry

251st National Meeting (2016)

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