You don't *really* need rectangles. This can be done with 3 stroked paths in Illustrator.... [![enter image description here][1]][1] - Draw 1 path - Apply a thick stroke - Apply a stroke profile (On the Stroke Panel) so the stroke narrows at one end. - Duplicate the path - Change the stroke color - Adjust the anchors slightly so they are offset a bit from the original - Duplicate the path again for 3rd stroke - Tweak 3rd stroke anchors and color Really you just need to draw 1 path. You *could* use the black stroked path in your second image as a starting point. -------------- *Technically* if one makes the base stroke super, super, thick, this *could* be accomplished with just 2 overlapping strokes.... [![enter image description here][2]][2] ------------------ Or .. slightly more advanced.... 1 path with multiple strokes using the **Appearance Panel** and the **Width Tool** to add some variation to the thinner stroke. [![enter image description here][3]][3] ------------------ If you then *want* filled shapes rather than strokes... Select all and then choose `Object > Expand Appearance` from the menu. [![enter image description here][4]][4] `Object > Path > Simplify...` can be helpful after expanding, to eliminate a lot of superfluous anchor points. [![enter image description here][5]][5] [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/EpdGx.png [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/zsXGW.png [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/bxkng.png [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/nFi3F.png [5]: https://i.sstatic.net/sqVvJ.png