Design for web sites, graphics, brochures, logos, product design and more

Invaluable aid to aesthetics - Phi-based proportions provide an inherent natural sense of beauty, balance and harmony because these proportions appear so pervasively in nature.  We thus instinctively sense these proportions as being aesthetically and artistically pleasing.  (If you'd like to learn more about this see GoldenNumber.net, particularly the pages on Art and Architecture.) 

Excellence in design without the guesswork or the math - Artists have long used a "Rule of Thirds" for composition, but that just provides a rough approximation of the proportions that we see in nature.  PhiMatrix provides a simple way to create a variety of grid patterns that apply the mathematics of design found in nature to your own artistic creations, giving them a beauty and appeal that has been sought and applied by mankind since the earliest days of civilization.  The phi-based PhiMatrix grid captures the mathematics of design that is the basis for the inherent beauty that appears in nature.  And, as put by Luca Pacioli, a collaborator of Leonardo Da Vinci, "Without mathematics there is no art."

A simple guide - In its easiest form, the grid can be used by applying a simple golden ratio point from each border as a guide to align key elements of composition.  That could include the position of a horizon on a landscape or the dimensions and position of a face in a portrait:

Or ... a framework of composition - In its more extended forms, the grid can be used to create a framework upon which key elements of design can be placed.  When the grid is removed, the eye will still perceive the underlying proportions of relationship that align with our innate sense of beauty and aesthetics in nature.  Just as vanishing lines are applied to give a natural sense of perspective, phi-based golden ratio lines can be applied to give a natural sense of aesthetics and balance.

Express your unique creativity - Applying the grid to your own work still gives you complete artistic and creative control, but with a framework that can simplify the process of achieving this sense of proportion and balance.  It's a guide, not a rule, to composition, but one that can be used to produce exceptional results quickly and reliably, and with a variety of options to apply phi in your own unique way.  You can even create custom grids with lines ratios other than phi to create your own unique framework.

Yet appeal to the innate sense of balance - Note how these proportions have been applied by artists, architects, designers and more in the examples below, whether consciously or unconsciously.  These phi proportions are now easily unveiled by overlaying the PhiMatrix grid and can be just as easily applied by using PhiMatrix with your own works.  Overlay the PhiMatrix grid on digital design/editing software of any kind (PhotoShop, AutoCAD, landscape architecture software, etc.) and use it as a framework upon which you place and proportion key elements and lines of your own designs.  Just align or proportion the key elements of your composition with the grid to achieve results like master artists and designers have been creating for centuries.

As in the examples below - The grid can be applied both horizontally and vertically at the same time as a tool in composition, but showing the vertical and horizontal elements separately makes it easier to see its application:

Note the positions and sizes of the title, the silhouetted figures and the faces. (Using Bottom option on grid lines.)	Note the position of the title, the skyline and the waterfront. (Using Bottom option on grid lines.)	Note the position of the title, the subtitle, the portraits and their names. (Using Center option on grid lines.)
Note the width of the title and silhouetted figures and the positions of the key facial features framed inside every other phi line. (Using Center option on grid lines.)	Note the width of the title and the placement of key facial features within first phi line and rest of face within second phi lines. (Using Left & Right option on grid lines.)	Note the width and position of the movie title and the width and position of the key facial features.  (Using Center option on Grid, offset slightly to the left.)

Fonts and logos too - PhiMatrix can also be applied to create stylized results in fonts and logos.  Note in "Sleepless" above how the tips of the middle line of the E fall right on the second phi lines, while the tips of the E, L and S very closely align with the first phi lines.

No limit to the creative opportunities - Here are other examples, from logos to products to web sites and masterpieces of art and architecture.

Click on the images below to enlarge to full size

Note: The logos presented on this page are for illustration purposes only of principles of graphic design and are do not imply in any way an endorsement of, or affiliation with, this web site or explicit use of PhiMatrix software in their development.

Using the Data Window

The Data Window provides an additional tool for determining grid dimensions and applying these dimensions to other projects, and is particularly useful in working with non-digital projects.

Suppose that you're working with something that is 16 x 24 in dimensions, be it a 16" x 24" canvas or a 16 x 24 foot room. You want to know where the phi lines fall in order to position key design elements in a way that gives beauty and balance.

Click on the XY icon on the Control Window to open up the Data Window. Set the number of grid lines (H Lines and V Lines controls) to the desired number. Click and drag the PhiMatrix application to resize it and watch the numbers in the Data Window as you go. Get to numbers that represent the size of your design project, and in this case you would use 240 by 160. The dimensions for all the key points of your design are displayed in the status window. So on a 24" canvas, you would want to place key design elements at 5.7", 9.2" and 14.8" horizontally (corresponding to the X coordinates) and at 3.8", 6.1" and 9.9" vertically (corresponding to the Y coordinates).