[The Golden Ratio and User-Interface Design](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/golden-ratio-ui-design/) is my favourite article about the golden ratio. I also like [Intuition For The Golden Ratio – BetterExplained](https://betterexplained.com/articles/golden-ratio-intuition/). It is relevant in [[User interface design]]. Does breaks in music follow the golden ratio? Song structure? ## Golden spiral When I first learned about the golden ratio, nobody explained to me how the golden spiral worked. It just felt like someone showed me a picture of a spiral. Why? > You can repeat the process indefinitely by dividing each golden rectangle into a square and another golden rectangle. The result will be a **golden spiral** — obtained by connecting the opposite corners of each of the squares. It is also found in nature (without the square ordeal obviously). But I do not intuitively understand how the spiral is made up without the squares. Like how you would describe the mathematical rule of the spiral. I feel like when someone shows a spiral like this (with the squares) that something is being left unsaid. Who decides that the curve should be kept straight? > The golden spiral is found within many naturally occurring elements such as plants and in weather patterns like hurricanes. All of this reminds me of a quote from [Willingness to look stupid](https://danluu.com/look-stupid/): > It's often the case that there's a seemingly obvious but actually incorrect reason something is true, a slightly less obvious reason the thing seems untrue, and then a subtle and complex reason that the thing is actually true In [[User interface design]], [[Butterick’s Practical Typography]] argues against solely using the golden ratio for scaling text: > Certain web-design pundits claim that [[Modular scale]]—that is, multiplying the body text by a recurring ratio—is a useful method of sizing web headings. I disagree. Yes, mathematical tools can guide certain typographic choices (see grids, for instance). The risk with these shortcuts is that they encourage typographers to satisfy themselves with numerical justifications—I used the golden ratio, therefore it must look good!—at the expense of developing visual judgment. When your headings look right, they are right. The ratio is irrelevant. (FWIW, I’ve never used a modular scale to size type. And never will.) See [Golden Ratio Typography (GRT) Calculator](https://grtcalculator.com/). # φ I like the symbol. It reminds me of [[Florin]].