A designer's guide to the Golden Ratio

An image of a shell representing the golden ratio
(Image credit: Tetra Images via Getty Images)

What is the Golden Ratio? We'll this guide aims to explain just that, as well as provide ideas for how you can use it as an artist or designer. It's a useful concept for graphic designers, illustrators and digital artists because it can be used to create organic-looking, visually-pleasing compositions in art and design.

In a nutshell, the golden ratio, also known as the Golden Mean, Golden Section or the Greek letter phi, is a mathematical ratio that can be expressed algebraically. But it's also commonly found in nature when the ratio of two quantities is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.

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Rosie Hilder

Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can.