FIBONACCI SEQUENCE IN UI: THE GOLDEN RATIO

Blessing Umoren
7 min readFeb 15, 2023

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In this post, I will be discussing the Fibonacci sequence and its relationship to the golden ratio. The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers that are interconnected in a way that is seemingly magical. Despite its seemingly random nature, the Fibonacci sequence is actually related to the golden ratio. Both numbers are found in nature and are often used in design and architecture. By understanding the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio, you will be able to create more aesthetically pleasing designs. So let’s take a look at both numbers and see how they are related.

1. What is the Fibonacci sequence and where does it come from?

The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers that are found in many areas of mathematics, including in the field of architecture. The sequence can be found in many shapes and sizes, but it is most commonly seen in the form of spiral staircases and plant growth.

The Fibonacci sequence is named after Leonardo Fibonacci, a mathematician who lived in the Middle Ages. Fibonacci was interested in the growth of plants and animal populations and was able to find patterns in their behavior.

LEONARDO PISANO FIBONACCI
LEONARDO PISANO FIBONACCI

2. The Fibonacci sequence in ui: The Golden ratio

The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers that are often used in design and architecture. It is named after Leonardo Fibonacci, a medieval Italian mathematician who introduced the sequence in the 12th century.

The Fibonacci sequence is often used in the design of objects that have a Fibonacci spiral, such as the leaves of the Fibonacci tree. The sequence also appears in the growth of plants and in the proportions of the human body.

The Golden ratio is a mathematical term that refers to the following equation:

x = 1.618

The Golden ratio is found in a wide range of objects and natural phenomena. For example, the length of the human body is approximately 2.55 times the length of the forearm, the length of the root of a plant is approximately 2.7 times the length of the stem, and the circumference of a circle is approximately 2.9 times the diameter.

3. The Fibonacci sequence in ui: Usage examples

The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers that includes the number 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. It’s named after Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician who lived between 1175 and 1250.

The Fibonacci sequence can be used in a variety of ways in ui design. One common usage is in the creation of ratios. For example, the ratio 1:1 is the golden ratio. The golden ratio is found by dividing the length of the shorter side by the length of the longer side.

In terms of web design, the Fibonacci sequence can be used to create beautiful designs. For example, take a look at the following website. To create the spiral effect, the Fibonacci sequence was used to create the background image.

Another example of the use of the Fibonacci sequence in web design is in the creation of icons. Icons are small pictures that are used to represent a larger concept or idea. When creating icons, it’s important to use the Fibonacci sequence to create the icons.

Golden Rectangle with the first few terms from the Fibonacci sequence. Each number indicates the dimensions of the square it is in Adapted from Dicklyon

4. The Fibonacci sequence in ui: Tips & tricks

The Fibonacci sequence is one of the most popular patterns used in UI design. It is used to create harmony and balance in a design.

The Fibonacci sequence is based on the Fibonacci numbers. These are numbers that are the sum of the previous two numbers in the sequence. The first number in the sequence is 0 and the second number is 1.

The Fibonacci sequence is found in many natural and man-made objects. It is also found in the growth of plants and in the formation of stars.

There are many tips and tricks that you can use to create a design that is based on the Fibonacci sequence. You can use it to create a balance in your design, to create harmony, and to create a design that is pleasing to the eye.

Beauty in the eye of the Fibonacci Sequence

Many of the real world illustrations of the Fibonacci sequence portray what most would consider beauty. The most famous examples are found in nature. Several species of plants, in which the exact number of flower petals are always found to one that is found in the Fibonacci sequence. A more renowned example can be identified in the beloved sunflower. One will often discover that when counting the seed spirals of a sunflower in one direction (e.g. clock-wise), they will arrive at a number found in the Fibonacci sequence. On the other hand, counting the number of seed spirals in the opposite direction (e.g. counter-clockwise) will result in tallying up to a successive or preceding number to the initial Fibonacci number counted in the clock-wise direction.

Sunflower seed spirals / Fibonacci spiral. Photo Credits: Anna Benczur

These Fibonacci spirals are found in a myriad of other atheistically pleasing entities such as galaxies, nautilus shells, hurricanes and as some would argue — in human faces.

Real world examples of the Fibonacci spiral. From Left to Right: Low pressure system over Iceland, Messier 74: A Galaxy, Nautilius Shell.
Photo Credits from left to right : NASA, Jim Keller [Digitized Sky Survey], Chris 73

User Interface and Golden ratio

This simple theory can make a big impact to the human eye, why not use it in our modern user interface designs and logos? In fact this phenomenon is already being used in logo designs and website layouts. The arrangement of text and images on the user interface, grid layouts, font sizes etc are few of the areas where the Golden ratio is used. It is said to give the user an unknown reason to like the website or logo.

Logos

Golden ratio is widely used in designing logos. Many designers believe that including the dimensions of golden ratio in their logo helps make a big positive impact in the minds of the viewers and would increase the popularity of the brand. Have a look at these examples :

ZEKA DESIGN

Layout

the Golden Ratio can help you design a visually appealing UI that draws the user’s attention to what matters the most. For example, a page that highlights a wide block of content on the left with a narrower column on the right can follow the Golden Ratio’s proportions and help you decide where to put the most important content.

Inside Design

Cropping and resizing images

When cropping images, it’s easy to identify white space to cut out. But, how do you make sure the image is still balanced after you resize it? You can use the Golden Spiral as a guide for the image’s composition.

For example, if you overlay the Golden Spiral on an image, you can make sure that the focal point is in the middle of the spiral.

Inside Design

Typography and defining hierarchy

The Golden Ratio can help you figure out what size font you should use for headers and body copy on a website, landing page, blog post, or even print campaign.

Let’s say your body copy is 12px. If you multiply 12 by 1.618, you’ll get 19.416, meaning a header text size of 19px or 20px would follow the Golden Ratio and balance the 12px body font size.

If you want to figure out how big your body text size should be, you could do the opposite. If your header text is 25px, you can divide it by 1.618 to find the body text (15 or 16 px).

Recommended resources for learning more about the Fibonacci sequence in ui include books, articles, websites, and courses. Here are some of the best resources for learning more about the Fibonacci sequence:

  • “The Fibonacci Sequence: Why It Matters and What It Can Do for Your Design” by Jessica Hische
  • “Fibonacci: The Mathematical Genius Who Found the Golden Ratio” by Dan Brown
  • “Beautiful Math: The Patterns of Nature” by Martin Gardner
  • “The Fibonacci Web: A Visual Guide to the Mathematical Wonder” by Tim Otte
  • “The Fibonacci Sequence: Exploring the World of Numbers” by Bill Thompson
  • “Fibonacci: The Path to Mathematical Genius” by Maria M. Antonietti
  • “Fibonacci: The Mathematics of Leonardo da Vinci” by Maria M. Antonietti
  • “Fibonacci: The Art of numbers” by Piet Hein

I hope you enjoyed this article on the Fibonacci sequence in user interface design. As you may know, the Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers that are used to create aesthetically pleasing designs. In this article, I highlight how the Fibonacci sequence can be used in user interface design to create a harmonious and pleasing design. I also provide a few examples of how you can use the Fibonacci sequence in your designs. Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this article helpful.

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