The Rule of Thirds and the Golden Ratio

We all know how important it is to create stellar image composition.  But you don’t have to have an “artist’s eye” in order to wow your viewers—just follow these timeless techniques to ensure that your designs are spot-on every time.

The rule of thirds is commonly used in composition today, but the concept has dated back some 2,400 years to ancient Greece with the mathematical discovery of the golden ratio.  Without getting into the nitty gritty of the equation, it shows that asymmetry and a 1:3 proportion are aesthetically (and scientifically) pleasing.

Nature abounds with the golden ratio, as you can see from the nautilus image above.  My sketch on top of it further demonstrates the ratio.  First, you see the outer rectangle with a geometric arc that intersects at pivotal points to create a spiral.  Looking closer, you’ll notice that the outer rectangle is cut in two, giving us a square and another rectangle.  The ratio repeats itself again and again in each rectangle, leading eventually to a “sweet spot,” where the rectangles grow smaller and become more concentrated.

There are a total of four sweet spots in the golden rectangle, depending on how you first begin constructing it—think about where that spot would be located if you were to flip this image horizontally and vertically.

It’s a good idea to keep these sweet spots in mind when framing and editing images.  I’ve posted some of my own images below to show how the rectangle can be applied to photographs to make for some easy editing.

Notice how your eye goes directly to the boat in the sunset.

You can see how the rule of thirds influences web design even in basic blog layouts.  When we designed our blog, we created a two-column theme to maintain order and minimize distractions away from the actual content.  A two-column theme also allows for larger image sizes, and this site is (obviously) going to be graphically-focused so we need all the space we can get! In terms of the rule of thirds, you can see that our sidebar column takes up around a third of the page layout.

The rule of thirds and the golden ratio are important philosophies to remember when framing images, but don’t let them override your own creative spirit.  There will always be exceptions to the rule, but as I learned long ago, you have to learn the rules before you can break them.