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OUGD404 - Design Principles - Grids & Proportions - Part 1


The Fibonacci Sequence ratio 8:13 links in with the golden rule, section and rectangle. 


The sequence is not only found within design but life and nature it's self:



I think this one is sheer coincidence, but still interesting:


This video explains that each layer of petals in a flower/ on a pinecone etc.. follows the Fibonacci number sequence: 



Usage when designing: 

By using this sequence through aesthetics, designing holds much more harmony. 

- A great way create perfect proportions / aesthetically pleasing proportions. 

It is often found in Fine Art, the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci: 







Usage in the Design World:

Here you can see that Twitter uses the Golden Ratio in order to construct it's layout:





Usage when working with type:

The recurring numbers from the sequence can be put to use when it comes to using proportions of type:

 If your title is 55 points in size,  a great size to compliment this would be 34 body copy as it's the number behind in the sequence. Another example could be Using 13 point with 21 Sub-header and a 34 point title. 



Golden Section:

This is another ratio used to create aesthetically pleasing proportions. The Golden Section is a great ration to use to quickly split up a page.




How to use the Golden Section:

You use the golden number and divide by the length you are wanting to section.

So for the example below, If you had a page of 56cm and you divided it by 1.62 you would get 34.56 (rounded to 35) this would split the page up into 21cm and 35cm. With the 21cm rectangle you can then divide it and repeat. You would eventually create a page layout with an effective way of laying out information and in a hierarchy.




Rule of Thirds:

This can be mostly found within Photography as a quick way to compose an image to create an aesthetically pleasing photograph.


Where the lines intersect is where the eye is most often drawn to. So when composing an image, it is best to position the points of interest in these areas.  

Application to design: 

 The rule can also be applied to grids and layouts, as shown by this CNN website:





The most valuable information is placed purposely in these intersects, in order to draw your eye to it.

The thirds can also be split further, exposing a more complicated layout:



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