Golden Ratio Of Design

As a designer, you have to go through a lot of fuss to create the perfect design. Often the hard part of designing is not just to create a good design, but to create an excellent one and proportion plays a big part in it. The right proportion between lengths of different parts in your design says a lot about your design and finding the right proportion between lengths is usually the fussy part. But, what would you say if we told you that there is a ratio that could help you make your designs look absolutely great? A single ratio!! And it has been used for hundreds of years by great architects to make their sculptures and designs look more and more eye pleasing. Right from the paintings to great sculptures, this ratio is everywhere. So, what is this ratio? And why is it so special? Well, it’s called the GOLDEN RATIO and rightful to its name, it works wonders for the designers. Also known by the names of Golden mean and even The Divine Section, this ratio has been used since the times of ancient scholars including Euclid and Pythagoras. So, if you are a designer and you don’t know what this Golden Ratio is, you are at the right place. This post is exactly for you. But, even if you are not a designer, you should still definitely know about this amazing ratio, that is used literally almost everywhere. In this post, we will explain to you, the golden ratio, right from what it is to how you can use it in your designs. SO KEEP READING. What is the golden ratio? Represented by the Greek Alphabet ‘Φ’ (Phi), the ratio between two numbers equalling approximately to 1.628:1 is called the golden ratio. The ratio is an irrational number and has a non-terminating decimal value of 1.61803398875… , but this value is rounded up to the third value after decimal as 1.618. The golden ratio is usually taken as the ratio between lines of different lengths and also the ratio of the sum of the lengths of both these lines to the length of the long line among them.

This ratio is the ideal ratio for designs and has been used at multiple places by a number of designers and architects.
Why is the golden ratio so special?
Now that you know what the Golden Ratio is, you might as well be wondering, why this ratio is so important ?
There is a really interesting answer to it. We are subconsciously used to looking at things that have the golden ratio. YES!! Unbelievable but True. The golden ratio is available abundantly in nature. Right from the spikes of the pine cones, a blooming rosebud, center of sunflower to the Nautilus shell and even the features on the human face abide by this ratio. The Golden Ratio is Literally everywhere. And so, for the same reason, we have an affinity for the shapes and structures that abide by the golden ratio too.

A number of ancient and great sculptors and artists have used this factor in their structures and paintings for years to make them more pleasing and attractive to the human eye. Paintings like the Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa & The last supper and popular & ancient structures like the Greek Parthenon, The Eiffel Tower & even the great pyramids of Giza follow the Golden ratio.
Shapes using the Golden ratio:
A few shapes can be made using the Golden Ratio, the most popular of which is the Golden Rectangle and the Golden Spiral. Both these shapes are discussed in detail below.
– The Golden Rectangle:
A rectangle, the ratio of whose sides is approximately equal to the Golden Ratio, i.e 1.618 is called a Golden Rectangle. It is the ideal rectangle. The idea of the Golden Rectangle can be seen in the structure of the Greek Parthenon.

To understand this better, let’s play a game. Take a pencil and paper and make a rectangle of 34⨯21 cm. Notice that the ratio of these numbers is approximately equal to 1.618. So this is a Golden Rectangle. Now, divide this rectangle by drawing a segment at 21 cms, thus you have a 21⨯21 cm and a 21⨯13 cm rectangle. Now, if you notice carefully, this new rectangle is also a Golden Rectangle. Again divide this new rectangle at 13 cms, creating a 13⨯13 cms square and a 13⨯8 cms rectangle, which is another Golden rectangle. Keep repeating this process and see how each smaller rectangle is a Golden Rectangle. This is the beauty of the Golden Rectangle.

This is a key feature of Golden rectangle, as you keep dividing you get smaller and smaller golden rectangles.
– The Golden Spiral:
The best example of the omnipresence of the Golden Ratio is the Golden Spiral. RIght from a blooming rosebud to the Nautilus Shell a lot of natural phenomenon show this spiral. It is formed as the ratio of the radii of consecutive spirals in it form the golden ratio. It is not the perfect spiral but is much more attractive than it.

A good example of the Golden Spiral being used in the art is that of the famous painting Mona Lisa.