Golden rectangle

Abstract: From two different series of dimensions were generated six ranges of nine rectangles each. Each range was presented to a different group of 15 men and 15 women, and a novel measure was used to assess aesthetic preference for each rectangle. The ratios between the lengths of the sides of the rectangles were the same in both series, but in one series the size of the rectangles covaried with the ratio between length and width, as in Godkewitsch's 1974 study, and in the other series the rectangles were of equal area. The subjects tended to prefer large to small rectangles in the former series and rectangles in the vicinity of the 'golden section' in the latter.

Abstract: A method determines a largest rectangle on a display surface. A polygon L is drawn on a first depth plane having a depth z=1 in a depth buffer. A rectangle R is drawn with a predetermined aspect ratio on a second depth plane having a depth z=0. A center of projection is determined with a minimum depth z in a range [0,1] that maps the rectangle R into a largest rectangle S in the first depth plane so that the rectangle S remains completely inside the polygon L.

Abstract: Aesthetics in user interfaces addresses font definitions, typesetting conventions, color combinations, graphics design considerations, high resolution for viewscreens, and the shapes of windows. Computer viewscreens are evolving into pictorial media, communicating information with visual immediacy. The more interesting interfaces make use of multiple windows, menus, icons, and other visual effects to waken and sustain user interest and effectiveness. A pretty window is a viewscreen window with the dimensions of a golden rectangle, a rectangle whose width and height form the golden ratio of Euclid. Psychologists believe golden rectangles are aesthetically more pleasing than arbitrary rectangles, and subjects tend to select them in preference to other rectangles in tests.

Abstract: The study re-examined the finding that blind and sighted subjects haptically perceiving various rectangular proportions, including the golden section, preferred the square as most pleasing. While rectangular preferences of congenitally blind subjects questioned the existence of the golden section as a haptically satisfying figure, the preferences of late blind and sighted subjects generally confirmed the haptic aesthetic value of the golden section. The results thus indicated that the haptic perception of the golden rectangle as aesthetically pleasing is contingent on contact with the visual world.