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JennGM Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 4:22pm | IP Logged
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I'm trying to figure out how to apply the Golden Mean to some booklets I am creating.
Problem is, I don't remember learning anything about the Golden Ratio or Golden Rectangle or Golden Mean or Golden Section. NOTHING.
We watched Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land which gave me a better idea of what it is and a bit how to figure it out, but I'm still confused.
I'm trying to figure out proportions for a booklet and can't seem to APPLY this knowledge very well.
The booklet needs to be about 7 inches tall (about, give or take an inch). So how do I figure out the width so that it is proportional as in nature? This is the cover.
And then the inside needs to be just smaller, but proportional, also.
I'm totally feeling inadequate here... HELP????
__________________ Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 4:37pm | IP Logged
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ummm steal from pictures? since a picture with a long side of 7 inches would have a width of 5 inches.. then just put a half inch margin around the text for 6x4.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JennGM Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
ummm steal from pictures? since a picture with a long side of 7 inches would have a width of 5 inches.. then just put a half inch margin around the text for 6x4. |
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I know I could steal from pictures, but I kind of wanted to be able to figure it out a bit...understand what I'm doing.
__________________ Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Maryan Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 6:35pm | IP Logged
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Woodworking explanation of golden section
"The long dimension of a golden rectangle is 1.618 times greater than the shorter dimension."
So... I *think* if you wanted your longer side to be 7 inches than you would divide 7 by 1.618 which is about 4.3 inches.
But I would ask our friend Pete S.
__________________ Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Maryan Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 6:42pm | IP Logged
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Hmm... I just cut that out and it doesn't seem right. Another option using the golden section ration (if I'm doing it correctly) is if your long side is 8", then the width would be 4.94... which is close to 8" x 5" and that seems to look better to me.
It could also be as Jodie pointed out that my eye is accustomed to paper (or photos) to be certain sizes?
__________________ Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 7:32pm | IP Logged
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Well, a rule of thumb is that the golden mean is roughly 2/3s, so if you have a height in mind, the width would be roughly 2/3s of it.
If you want to better understand just what it is you are doing, you can think about the golden mean in relation to the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. The mean is the ratio between the two, so you can find the golden mean by dividing a lower number in the sequence by the following number. This is more accurate the higher you go in the sequence.
For instance, 8/13 is .61538..., leaving .38 as the approximate ratio. .38x7 is 2.66, and 2.66/.61532 will leave you with 4.3225
So, I would probably go with 4.3 inches if I wanted to be "fussy" about making a golden rectangle from a height of 7.
So, Maryan's original answer is correct.
There might be a reason that doesn't look "right" to her.
In terms of making a booklet, you might visually see the spine or side margin as "extra" depending on how you bind it. So, perhaps your eye wants to make the golden mean happen spacially to the side. Does that make sense?
Hope that helps. I'm sure the article from Fine Woodworking is excellent as well and probably much better than my convoluted methods. It was the way it was first explained to me (in my music history class, oddly), and I've thought of it that way since. My husband has different way of processing it when he's assessing his carpentry designs, so it is probably just a matter of preference how you choose to do the math and evaluate.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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AtHomeScience Forum Pro
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Posted: June 13 2012 at 9:31pm | IP Logged
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If you do have some play in the size then you could use the Fibonacci sequence like Lindsay said to get the golden ratio, ie. make it 8 x 5 and you know it must be the right proportion.
__________________ Kris, Mom to 3 rambunctious boys
At Home Science
A Private Eye Nature
Science Of Relations
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 14 2012 at 6:15am | IP Logged
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AtHomeScience wrote:
If you do have some play in the size then you could use the Fibonacci sequence like Lindsay said to get the golden ratio, ie. make it 8 x 5 and you know it must be the right proportion. |
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Yes, or find a unit of measurement to fit the Fibonacci numbers that will get you closer to your desired size but easier to measure accurately than weird decimals.
You could use centimeters instead of inches.
Or, you could use half inches or even quarter inches with the bigger numbers.
For instance, 8x13 half inches would end up as 4x6.5 inches, a bit easier to measure than 4.3x7 but closer to your desired size and more "perfect" than the standard 4x6 .
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MaryM Board Moderator
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Posted: June 18 2012 at 2:48am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I'm sure the article from Fine Woodworking is excellent as well |
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That article does have a great method that could be used with paper. Any golden rectangle can be made proportionally smaller or larger very easily with that bisect method illustrated.
Scale a golden rectangle
Using a golden rectangle of any size, you can create another golden rectangle with different dimensions. Simply draw a golden rectangle and bisect it with a diagonal line that stretches from one corner to another. Then extend the diagonal line. Any rectangle that shares this diagonal, whether it is smaller or larger, will be golden.
CrunchyMom wrote:
Yes, or find a unit of measurement to fit the Fibonacci numbers that will get you closer to your desired size but easier to measure accurately than weird decimals.
You could use centimeters instead of inches. |
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...or even going with millimeters. I found chart on this website which give the relation of the golden ratio to the Fibonacci sequence. The higher you go in the sequence the closer it comes to estimating the ratio, hence the use of millimeters would allow you to fit a sample golden rectangle on paper to manipulate in size with that bisect method.
__________________ Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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