In the field of architectural design a column is used for decoration as well as support. Classical Greek and Roman architecture made use of five major styles of column (see order), carved from single blocks or created from stacks of massive stone blocks. In ancient Egypt and the Near East, columns, usually large and circular, were used with great effect to decorate and support massive structures, especially in the absence of arches. In Far Eastern architecture, columns tend to be simple in shape but richly decorated. Craftsmen of the Gothic and Romanesque era used the bases and capitals of supporting stone columns as spaces for intricate carving. Baroque designs often featured sinuously carved columns of marble. Modern (modern art) columns tend to be made of iron, steel, or concrete and are simply designed.

Columns may be rectangular, circular, or polygonal in shape; they may taper toward the top, or be of uniform diameter. An engaged, attached, or embedded column is one that is built into a wall and protrudes only partially from it; this type of column came to serve a decorative rather than structural purpose in the Roman pilaster. A cluster or compound column is a group of columns connected with each other to form a single unit. A rostral column is a pillar decorated with the prow of a ship, or rostrum, to serve as a naval monument.