eBusiness Weekly
Leslie Mupeti
Ever wondered why nature looks so perfect? Why is everything so proportional to everything?
Why is the human chest exactly the right size and perfectly proportional to the rest of the body? No doubt these are the results of good design. God, after all, is the master designer who perfectly created the universe that we live in.
What do the pyramids of Giza have in common with DaVinci’s Monalisa? What does the Twitter logo have in common with the Pepsi logo? What makes good design good and bad design bad? Mathematicians and scientists in history have been studying nature’s patterns in an effort to come up with some kind of formula to explain why nature is designed the way it is, how God’s design is so perfectly proportional and the potential application of these findings into the real world.
The golden ratio
The results of these findings have been outstanding. The mathematicians and scientists who dedicated themselves to this work came up with what is known as the Golden ratio. It can also be known as the golden mean or the divine proportion. The universe may seem chaotic and random but it’s a highly organised physical realm bound by the laws of mathematics. Numerous hours have been devoted to studying the properties of this straightforward ratio by some of the greatest mathematical minds throughout history, including Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, Leonardo of Pisa in the Middle Ages, Johannes Kepler in the Renaissance, and Roger Penrose in the present day. So what is this golden ratio? The Golden ratio in mathematical terms is the irrational number (1 + √5)/2, often denoted by the Greek letter ϕ or τ (pronounced phi), which is approximately equal to 1.618.
When a line segment is divided into two portions of differing lengths, the ratio of the entire segment to the longer segment must be equal to the ratio of the longer segment to the shorter segment. This “division” or “sectioning” property was known to the ancient Greeks; it was then abbreviated to “the section.” Both “ratio” and “section” weren’t deemed to be “golden” until more than 2,000 years later, in 1835, by German mathematician Martin Ohm. Leonardo da Vinci’s work and the publication of De divina proportione (1509; Divine Proportion), written by the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo, among other Renaissance figures, helped to further the idea that the golden ratio provided the most aesthetically pleasing ratio of sides for a rectangle.
Applications of the Golden Ratio in design
The Golden Ratio in design is essentially an aesthetic principle that emphasises harmony and proportion as a means of evoking and appreciating a sense of beauty. The Golden Ratio lends a sense of beauty, an X-factor, and a particular “it” quality to designs. From the Giza Pyramids to the Parthenon in Athens, from Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Da Vinci’’s Mona Lisa, and from the Pepsi logo to the concept of the Golden Ratio, this harmony and balance have been acknowledged for thousands of years. Even our features and bodies conform to the mathematical ratio.
In reality, the Golden Ratio appears to be a preference that is hard-wired into our minds. Even minor adjustments that bring an image closer to the Golden Ratio have a profound effect on our minds; it’’s almost like there’s an unconscious attraction.
Shapes can also use the Golden Ratio. If you take a square and multiply one of its sides by 1.618, the result is a rectangle with pleasing proportions. The Golden Ratio will be revealed if you lay the square over the rectangle at this point. Layout, spacing, content, pictures, and shapes are just a few compositional components of your design to which the golden ratio can be applied.
Layout
Consider the Golden Ratio to be a helpful rule of thumb when choosing the layout’s dimensions. Set your dimensions to 1:1.618 as a very basic approach to use the Golden Ratio. Take the conventional 960-pixel layout, for instance, then multiply the result by 1.618. You’ll get 594, which is the layout’s height.
Use the golden ratio to divide the design into two columns, and there you have it! Your layout will follow the Golden Ratio’s harmonious proportions if you work within these two shapes.
Since it works well for web design, the two-column layout is commonly used for online content. The design has undoubtedly been incorporated by National Geographic, who uses it for a website that is orderly, clear, and simple to read. It offers visitors a website with a clear hierarchy, sense of balance, and order.
Spacing: Use a layout that follows the golden ratio
Spacing is a crucial component of any design, whether it uses positive or negative space, and it frequently determines whether the outcome is successful or unsuccessful. Instead of spending time figuring out how far apart to space your parts, start with the golden ratio diagram and let the squares indicate where you should place each one. This will guarantee that your spacing and proportions are calculated rather than “instinctual,” as even the smallest adjustments to achieve the Golden Ratio can have a significant impact.
Additionally, if you’re working with multiple components, you can stack different Golden Ratio diagrams to maintain constant ratios throughout your design.
For the performing arts festival Bregenzer Festspiele, design firm Moodley created a brand identity that featured a logo, logotype, and collage design that was used on programs, playbills, and outdoor advertisements. The playbill includes collages of photographs and illustrations as well as a rippling logo with lots of white space. To ensure a well-proportioned cover, the size and location of each piece are decided using the Golden Ratio.
Content: Follow the
golden spiral
The location of material can be decided using the Golden Spiral as a guide. Your design should concentrate on the spiral’s core and include points of visual interest there because our eyes are drawn there naturally where they will look for specifics. In this visual identity for Saastamoisen säätiö, the content most plainly gets denser as the spiral advances. As the eye approaches the spiral, the size of each letter and the distance between each letter decrease. Even though the letters don’t always read in the same order, there is enough repetition for it to grow familia.
Photographs: Golden ratio
Any image must have a good composition if it is to effectively transmit information or to be aesthetically pleasant. The golden ratio can assist in developing a composition that will direct the viewer’s attention to the focal points of the image. You divide the image into three unequal portions using the Golden Ratio, and then you utilise the lines and intersections to put the image back together.
Since the ratio is 1: 0.618: 1, the first and third vertical columns’ widths will each be 1, and the middle vertical column’s width will be 0.618. Similar rules apply to the horizontal rows: the first and third rows’ heights will both be 1, and the center row’s width will be 0.618. Use those lines and intersections to now grab the viewer’s attention and direct it. Additionally, it builds tension while enhancing the composition’s intrigue and vigour.
The Rule of thirds
Using the Rule of Thirds is an additional (and perhaps more straightforward) approach to crop photographs using the golden ratio. Although it is not quite as exact as the golden ratio, it will come quite close. Set all vertical and horizontal lines to 1:1:1 to create even and balanced spaces for the Rule of Thirds. Ideally, place significant portions of the image at each of the rectangle’s four corners.
Leslie Mupeti is a brand strategist and Innovator. He can be contacted for feedback on [email protected] or +263 785 324 230.s Twitter and Facebook is @lesmupeti.
