# Golden Ratio - any designers out there?



## Blackswanwood (5 Apr 2020)

I make jewellery boxes and seem to have a constant queue of family members and friends who want one.

I always ask people what size they want and without exception they either do not know or say the same as the one I saw you made for xyz. For the last five I have presented a choice of three variations ... and each time the chosen one is based on dimensions derived using the Golden Ratio (1.618).

The next one is for a friend of one of my daughters. I was speaking with her earlier (FaceTime so socially distanced!) and out of interest I nudged towards the other two but she was having none of it.

Reading up on the Golden Ratio it seems some people absolutely believe in it and others think it is mathematically interesting but not really anything to do with design (they don’t all put it quite so politely!)

I would be interested to know from those of you who do design as well as making if you think there is anything in it?


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## marcros (5 Apr 2020)

I have to admit, I dont like it for boxes, they always feel a bit square for me. I tend to base mine around 3 x 2 x 1 or 3 x 2 x 2 if a taller box is needed.

for things like a chest of drawers, it seems to work well to give the proportions that look right.


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## MikeG. (5 Apr 2020)

There is, but it's cultural. Our western aesthetic has been programmed since the Greeks to see beauty in buildings and furniture of that ratio. The Orient sees things in a very different way.


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## Yojevol (5 Apr 2020)

MikeG.":17yayllk said:


> There is, but it's cultural. Our western aesthetic has been programmed since the Greeks to see beauty in buildings and furniture of that ratio. The Orient sees things in a very different way.


I beg to differ. The GR turns up all over the place in the natural world. Just google 'GR in nature' and you'll come up with lots of examples like this:-



I have just cropped this photo to this size because it appeals to me. I haven't measured it but I bet it's pretty close to the GR. It appeals to me because I am part of that natural world, just as the Greeks used it because it appealed to them. Did they actually use THE ratio or did the design to what they felt was 'right'?
Brian


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## MikeG. (5 Apr 2020)

Japan, Korea and China are all exposed to the natural world too. It's just that they have a very different aesthetic from us, and don't knowingly use the Golden Ratio.


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## FatmanG (5 Apr 2020)

looks like im going to learn something new again tonight thanks to this forum. I have never heard of the GR I am going to have to google it now. I love learning


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## Phil Pascoe (5 Apr 2020)

Hang on while and we'll be on to catenary curves and Fibonacci series. :lol:


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## Stanleymonkey (5 Apr 2020)

Yojevol":z1wdnrp0 said:


> MikeG.":z1wdnrp0 said:
> 
> 
> > There is, but it's cultural. Our western aesthetic has been programmed since the Greeks to see beauty in buildings and furniture of that ratio. The Orient sees things in a very different way.
> ...




I'm getting confused with Fibonacci Series here. How is the plant in the picture displaying the golden ratio?


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## lurker (5 Apr 2020)

I have it written in 3 inch high letters on my workshop wall.
People ask what it is 
Golden ratio, sez I.
They go away suitably impressed.

Never used it though


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## Blackswanwood (5 Apr 2020)

Stanleymonkey":pmcb2kj5 said:


> I'm getting confused with Fibonacci Series here. How is the plant in the picture displaying the golden ratio?



It’s covered here. https://blog.prototypr.io/golden-ratio- ... c3f43bcf98


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## Yojevol (5 Apr 2020)

Stanleymonkey":24edh71r said:


> Yojevol":24edh71r said:
> 
> 
> > MikeG.":24edh71r said:
> ...


As you go further and further along the Fibonacci series the ratio of a Fibonacci number to the previous number in the series tends to the GR of 1.6180339887. For instance an early number in the series is 8. The previous number is 5 so the ratio is 1.6. A later pair is 89 and 55 gives a ratio of 1.6181818....
:lol:


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## John15 (6 Apr 2020)

For me the 1.6 ratio is just right to the eye. Neither too long or too short or too high. I've followed this theory with all the bits I've made and for me it works.

John


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## Blackswanwood (6 Apr 2020)

Interesting that following up on Mike’s comments I hadn’t realised the Japanese and Chinese favour the ratio 1 : 1.414 aka The Silver Ratio. It jumps out now I see it pointed out on traditional Japanese buildings.


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## John Brown (6 Apr 2020)

Which is the ratio of A paper sizes, IIRC.


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## MikeG. (7 Apr 2020)

Indeed, it is. 1: the square root of 2.


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## Richard_C (7 Apr 2020)

For those who do like the golden ratio, there is a handy, free simple android app called (cunningly) "golden ratio calculator". You can put in any of the variables (A+B=C) and the other 2 are done for you. There are several books - "The Secret Code" gets a bit mystical in places but has solid examples of where it, and Fibonacci, turn up in nature and man made objects.

Now, off to breed some rabbits ...


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## Inspector (7 Apr 2020)

Richard_C":363ygtx0 said:


> Now, off to breed some rabbits ...



I kind of thought they did that all on their own. :wink: 

I bought some Phi rules and they are handy for laying out without doing calculations.  

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/to ... atio-rules

Pete


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