Have you ever looked at a sign and thought that looks great, or it looks less than great? When it comes to designing signage on your Vision engraver or CNC router, an often-overlooked rule when designing signs is the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is a useful tool that will help you bring out aesthetically appealing elements, of your design.
- Mathematically, the Golden Ratio proportioning is “A+B is to A as A is to B” with an approximate value of 1.618. This is the key number to remember. With the design, multiply any element’s size x 1.618 to determine the size of another, proportionally balanced element.
- For example, if the height of an object is 5 inches to calculate the length = 1.618 x 5 to determine the length of 8.09 inches.
- If we take the length and divide 8.09 by 5, we get the Golden Ratio of 1.618 knowing our signage fits the golden ratio.
- This also works on sign lettering. If our main letters are 5/8 our sub letters are .625/1.618 = .386 or more common .375 or 3/8
- A square sign on 4×4 looks a little plain, but when we have a sign that fits the Golden Ratio, it appears more visually appealing.
- When we need the long side, we multiply by 1.618
The sign on the left is a typical square sign, while the sign on the right adheres to both text rules and sign size rules of the Golden Ratio.
Check back next month for more Engraving Quick Tips. Contact Vision Engraving & Routing Systems to learn about the golden ration, making signs or to request a free online engraving demo. Visit us online today at www.visionengravers.com or call 1-888-637-1737.