# Lisaholland’s Weblog

## Measurement

Posted in Magawebzine Work by lisaholland on September 29, 2008

Fibonacci

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers named after Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci. Fibonacci’s 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics, although the sequence had been previously described in Indian mathematics.

The first number of the sequence is 0, the second number is 1, and each subsequent number is equal to the sum of the previous two numbers of the sequence itself, yielding the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc. In mathematical terms, it is defined by the followingrecurrence relation:

$F_n = begin{cases} 0 & mbox{if } n = 0; \ 1 & mbox{if } n = 1; \ F_{n-1}+F_{n-2} & mbox{if } n > 1. \ end{cases}$

That is, after two starting values, each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. The first Fibonacci numbers (sequenceA000045 in OEIS), also denoted as Fn, for n = 0, 1, 2, … ,20 are:[4][5]

 F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13 F14 F15 F16 F17 F18 F19 F20 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181 6765

The Golden Ratio

At least since the Renaissance, many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio—especially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio—believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. Mathematicians have studied the golden ratio because of its unique and interesting properties.

The golden ratio is often denoted by the Greek letter ϕ (phi). The figure of a golden section illustrates the geometric relationship that defines this constant. Expressed algebraically:

$frac{a+b}{a} = frac{a}{b} = varphi,.$

This equation has as its unique positive solution the algebraic irrational number

$varphi = frac{1+sqrt{5}}{2}approx 1.61803,39887ldots,$

Other names frequently used for or closely related to the golden ratio are golden section (Latin: sectio aurea), golden mean, golden number, and the Greek letter phi(ϕ).Other terms encountered include extreme and mean ratio, medial section, divine proportion, divine section (Latin: sectio divina), golden proportion,golden cut,and mean of Phidias.

What does Mathematics have to do with Beauty?

What has mathematics got to do with beauty? Actually, a lot. Physical attraction depends on ratio.

Our attraction to another person’s body increases if that body is symmetrical and in proportion. Likewise, if a face is in proportion, we are more likely to notice it and find it beautiful. Scientists believe that we perceive proportional bodies to be more healthy.

Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of the human body emphasised its proportion. The ratio of the following distances is the Golden Ratio  :(foot to navel) : (navel to head)

Posted in Magawebzine Work by lisaholland on September 28, 2008

http://www.coolinfographics.blogspot.com/

http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2008/pl_music_1609

The coolinfographics link led me to wired.com, where there is a very creative way of displaying a music mash-up. Instead of listing the times and artist names it is displayed in diagram form. The page is set out in a number of circles which represents the chronological order of the track. There is also an image of the artist  to go with it.

I am impressed with this because it is a very interesting use of information graphics and is more appealing to the eye than a standard list.

http://aphotoeditor.com/

http://www.magazine.org/asme/2008-best-cover-finalists.aspx

magazine.org shows the top design magazine design covers of the year.

http://www.magazine.org/ASSETS/73A6905C4D464E5AA54D195B73029F3A/Texas-MonthlyBCeleb.jpg

This cover featuring Willie Nelson has a very nice overall look. The photograph is very powerful the fact that the viewer is looking up at the image makes the photograph dominate the page.

http://www.drawger.com/

The illustrations on this page relate to financial issues. They portray these issues in a humorous manner. I like the old fashioned design, which is almost evocative of the russian constructivist movement. Similar work by Brian Stauffer.

http://magculture.com/blog/?p=2158#more-2158

magculture.com talks about three magazine covers including graphic designer David King’s work. He worked for the magazine Time Out. The cover shown on this page has bold typography and strong CMYK colours as well as harsh halftones. The cover is vibrant, eye catching and generally well designed.

The Sleazenation cover takes a t-shirt joke and applies it to the magazine stand.

http://www.spd.org/winners08/

The New York Times Magazine’s the college issue cover is a clever piece of design. It shows the lifestyle of a college student and makes an interesting piece of typography along with it.

http://www.spd.org/2008/08/blender-redesign.php

The article is about creative director Dirk Barnett and his move to Blender magazine and the re-branding of the logo.

final logo-thumb-480×326.jpg

http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/mags/deavontuur.html

I like the concept that De avontuur bevat magazine used for their cover

“Each photograph has been used by readers as a bookmark and handed in by accident together with the book. The librairians collected the photographs from the books and pinned them up the bookcase, because the library is keen on returning the photographs to their rightful owners.

For a couple of months gerlach en koop will observe this collection and take a photograph every other week. Each photograph will be a new issue of the magazine ‘de avontuur bevat’.”

I think the fact that the readers are involved with the design of the cover is different from conventional designs it makes the reader more involved and makes for an interesting cover.