Further Grid Research - OUGD403

The Fibonacci & Golden Ratio 

This forms the basic paper sizes and achieves overall balance in design. This ratio is also evident in nature as well as design. For example, the whole human body and its parts fit the ratio.

8:13

1.62

The Fibonacci Spiral 

Often, designs are said to perfectly fit the golden ratio such as the Apple logo. Yet often, the designers claim to have not considered the ratio in the creation of such designs. The question is, are these merely coincidences, plans behind the design or just a good design eye? 

Canons

Canons are the principle of page layout design.They are used to measure and describe proportions, margins and print area.

The Van De Graaf Canon

Usually used for pleasing proportions in book design. Also known as the secret canon. Within the red boxes is the printable or body text area. 

The marginal proportions are 2:3:4:6 (inner:top:outer:bottom)

Tschichold's Canon

Jan Tschicold slightly altered the ratio of Van De Graafs original canon to meet proportions that he saw fit. Below a ratio of 34:21 is used in what is known as the Ocatavo. The lines from corner to corner determine the corners of the printable area.

Ocatavo Format Page 

Below is an illustration of the 'Golden Canon of Page Construction' which relies on a ratio of 2:3. As you can see the circle determines the height of the printable area.

Golden Canon

Rule of Thirds 

The rule of thirds is a technique more often used in photography. It involves an imaginary 3x3 grid over the photograph. The main subject is supposed to align with one of the vertical lines or another 'hotspot' as you can see from the Bee photograph above. This usually results in the focal point being to either the left or right of the image.  This technique allows photographers to draw attention to certain elements.