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Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

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Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#11
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes this is the question, are the two larger circles also in the golden section proportion? I assume they are. Also interesting is the position of the circles inside boundary of the (golden section) rectangle.

If the two larger circles had that ratio then it would imply that the two circles in the bottom left and bottom right would have the same radius. Which they don't appear to. So the ratio between the two larger circles must be slightly smaller, 1.5ish maybe.

Yes, you are correct. This seems to be the flaw in the design then , i.e. no organic relationship between the two clusters except the arbitrary golden section boundary.

Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#12
post #6

I get the impression that designers just use the golden ratio as a very quick way to choose different sizes for objects and layouts. It's really not that interesting.

How is it not interesting that these ratios turn out to be aesthetically pleasing over and over again? To me, that's fascinating.

It's confusing, if you assume that our preferences are totally arbitrary. If 'liking the golden ratio' is a property of being human, it's profound, but not confusing.

Thing is that the ideal might not be the golden ratio. Maybe we prefer pi/2 instead of (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2. Who's to say? Pi/2 is if anything -more- fundamental. It seems to be that we don't like things to look too square or too oblong, which limits us to the range of 4:3 through 7:3 as 'aesthetically acceptible'. phi just happens to be in the middle of this. So is pi/2, as noted previously.

You could test this, by showing people some rectangles and asking which ones they like -- 1.4:1, 1.5:1, 1.6:1, 1.7:1, 1.8:1, 1.9:1, etc.

One thing that's interesting is the rise of 8:5 screen dimensions over the old styles of 4:3 and 16:9. 8:5 is, coincidentally, right next to phi, and is in fact a convergent of its continued fraction. 8:5 includes 1280x800, 1440x900, and 1680x1050, 4:3 includes 640x480 and 1024x768, and 16:9 includes the oddball 1366x768. It could just be that the math is easier with 8 and 5, though, since their reciprocals both terminate.

Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#14
post #12
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it not interesting that these ratios turn out to be aesthetically pleasing over and over again? To me, that's fascinating.

It's confusing, if you assume that our preferences are totally arbitrary. If 'liking the golden ratio' is a property of being human, it's profound, but not confusing. Thing is that the ideal might not be the golden ratio. Maybe we prefer pi/2 instead of (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2. Who's to say? Pi/2 is if anything -more- fundamental. It seems to be that we don't like things to look too square or too oblong, which limits us to…

Actually for typical (cheap), large consumer displays 16:9 seems to be taking over. It's increasingly hard to find 16:10 24"+ monitors that aren't >$600. I'm not sure whether this is due to demand, the economics of larger displays, or the rise of HD television (720p, 1080p are both 16:9).

Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#15
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's confusing, if you assume that our preferences are totally arbitrary. If 'liking the golden ratio' is a property of being human, it's profound, but not confusing. Thing is that the ideal might not be the golden ratio. Maybe we prefer pi/2 instead of (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2. Who's to say? Pi/2 is if anything -more- fundamental. It seems to be that we don't like things to look too square or too oblong, which limits us to…

Actually for typical (cheap), large consumer displays 16:9 seems to be taking over. It's increasingly hard to find 16:10 24"+ monitors that aren't >$600. I'm not sure whether this is due to demand, the economics of larger displays, or the rise of HD television (720p, 1080p are both 16:9).

HD televisions. They reuse the same LCD panels in monitors and HDTVs.

Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#16
As far as I know there is no scientific evidence which would prove that people prefer artworks that are aligned to golden ratio proportions. In other words - golden ratio is pure pseudoscience when used in context of design: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/pseudo/fibonacc.htm

Re: Apple’s iCloud Icon Uses The Golden Ratio

#17
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