Golden Ratio In Web Design

The Key To Balanced Web Design: The Golden Ratio

Natural balance is a concept Web Designers grandfathered into basic design principles. In addition to the mathematic ratio, the Golden Ratio stems from the roots and proportions of nature. We'll dive into what the Golden Ratio is and how you can use it to harmonize your designs.

The golden ratio is a fundamental aspect of design work. It's found almost everywhere in nature and dates back as far as the Ancient Greeks.

Let's take a look at GEOM ...

Throughout history, the ratio for length to width of rectangles of 1.61803 39887 49894 84820 has been considered the most pleasing to the eye.

This ratio was named the golden ratio by the Greeks. In the world of mathematics, the numeric value is called "phi", named for the Greek sculptor Phidias. The space between the columns forms golden rectangles. There are golden rectangles throughout this structure which is found in Athens, Greece.

He sculpted many things including the bands of sculpture that run above the columns of the Parthenon.
Phidias widely used the golden ratio in his works of sculpture. The exterior dimensions of the Parthenon in Athens, built in about 440BC, form a perfect golden rectangle.

Leonardo Da Vinci called it the "divine proportion" and featured it in many of his paintings. Below is the famous "Mona Lisa". Try drawing a rectangle around her face. Are the measurements in a golden proportion?

You can further explore this by subdividing the rectangle formed by using her eyes as a horizontal divider. He did an entire exploration of the human body and the ratios of the lengths of various body parts.

http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~demo5337/s97b/art.htm

Gold Ratio in Web Design

Clearly, the Golden Ratio has been used throughout history, but now it's a desire to creatively acclimate this ratio into a virtual medium.

You can lay your landing page out according to this principle, as well as all other pages and the finer details within them.

This is interpreted into a spiral that starts off wide and gets exponentially tighter as it swirls inwards. The golden ratio is also expressed as 1:1.61.

First, you need to decide the length of the small element. Then multiply it by a golden ratio which is 1.618 and the result will be the perfect length of the bigger element.

The process is designed to help with proportions. All the elements need to work together in order to maximize the user experience in this case.

Why incorporate the Golden Ratio? -Well-balanced content!

Designers often face the situation when a product needs to contain a great amount of various content that cannot be replaced. To blend all the components in an agreeable arrangement, the golden ratio can be applied.
Divide the layout into different sections using a proportion of 1:1.618 and put the content in the sectors according to their importance. This composition is sufficient for users' perception and it helps to organize all the components.

Furthermore, each separate element like an icon has to be created in a harmony within itself. The golden ratio has a positive influence on visual perception and is the main reason why many graphic and UI designers apply it to their workflow.

Another example:

Take the width of 1000 pixels and divide it by 1.618 to get a height of about 618 pixels.
Then add a 618 x 618 square on the right side of the canvas, leaving behind a 382 x 618 rectangle on the left side – another golden rectangle.
As you could get, a "Golden Rectangle" is a rectangle whose length is 1.6180 times its width.

*The golden rectangle is the most used shape to visualize the golden ratio, but you can also use circles and triangles in a very similar way. - This example is provided by Apiumhub

You can use The Golden Ration for logos, typography, images, web design layout, and more!

You'll often see websites with a navigation bar and header image across the top that takes up a substantial amount of the screen. Many websites are broken into two columns, one being double the width of the other.

This is not just convenient because it helps with the navigation through the website but it also creates that first element of the golden ratio.

Tools

These tools do the work for you. So easy!

PHICULATOR - A simple widget for your Mac OSX dashboard, which given any number, will calculate the corresponding value using the golden ratio.

PHIMATRIX - Design and analysis software for Windows and Mac. Make great composition decisions in seconds with endless applications. The software overlays any image on your screen with dozens of customizable grids and templates.

AREAWARE - A physical product for daily creativity! Use the Golden Section Finder, a pocket-sized gazing device, to locate the proportional perfection in your surroundings.

When you understand the theory behind it, using the golden ratio becomes simple and straightforward. Let us know what you think of The Golden Ratio in the comments!