The golden ratio

Art can talk about many things; how we see the world, what we want to tell other people and feelings in general. And we have math; that is rules, numbers, equations and logic procedures. The golden ratio comes in between to connect these apparently not relatable subjects and make them the perfect combination. The golden number mix art, math and technology in an unpredictable way.

First we have that this little golden thing (1.61803398875, it’s just a little bit higher than 1!) is taken to make high quality art. We generally accept art as a form of beauty; occasionally proportions based on this number are highly attractive to the human eye. Nature, for example, has taken advantage of this number and has used it in shells and human faces (well, not all of them). Many paintings have been according to these proportions. A clear evidence here is the painting “Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow” 1930, by Piet Mondrian; that shows many of the black lines in this proportional placement.

Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow

Technology is taking this number and it is using it for its attractiveness. Many web pages and social networks rely on the people that visit them. One way to make this? “Let’s use the golden number” could be the perfect response. Actually Twitter is using this in its design. The evidence is Doug Bowman uploading a photo of how these proportions are used in the new design.

Doug Bowman illustrates the golden spiral in #NewTwitter design

The majority says that art and math are unmatchable subjects. We say the contrary, and we are supported with how the golden ratio is used in high priced masterpieces and technological design.

Via:

• http://www.piet-mondrian.org/composition-ii-in-red-blue-and-yellow.jsp
• http://laughingsquid.com/newtwitter-design-creates-golden-ratio/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
• http://www.math.cornell.edu/~araymer/Puzzle/GoldenRatio.pdf