In experimentally deformed clays, three parameters which influence the geometry of shear zones are water content, strain rate and the orientation of the shear zones with respect to any primary fabric. The shear zones are the main microstructures induced in the clays within the experimental conditions (triaxial compression at water contents between 20 and 35% w/w and strain rates between 10 −4 and 10 −8 s −1). Small changes in water content produce a significant change in the appearance of shear zones: structures in wetter sediments are more complex and more numerous than those in drier sediments which tend to produce a small number of discrete planar shear zones. Strain rate is a far less important influence on shear-zone geometry. The orientation of the zones with respect to a primary fabric is also significant. Shear zones which are parallel to the fabric have a simpler geometry than zones which intersect the fabric at a high angle. Knowledge of these factors may help interpret the conditions within which shear zones formed in naturally-deformed soft sediments.