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Any supporting research concerning this theory besides Renaissance philosophers or 19th, begin 20th century romantic painters? Le Corbusier based it's modulor on phi, but that only applies to humans. I understand that people in paintings and statues with phi correct proportions will appear more aesthetically (might be evolutionary), but why would things like displays look nicer with golden ratio proportions?

If you google research concerning the golden ratio, you will find some. The genetically based preference for the golden ratio is suggested because it is found throughout nature and is cross-culturally preferred.

The information I provided only applies to objects within a composition; as far as I know it does not apply to the perimeter of the composition so it therefore most likely does not apply to the aspect ratio of a display.

A lot of art and natural structures (flowers) do not have the golden ratio defining the borders yet have a good aestethic quality due to having the golden ratio within those borders.

From what I understand, people actually prefer wider aspect ratios because these displays better fit our visual field. I believe this is what is driving the move to 16:9.

Maybe the application of aesthetic preference in regard to the aspect ratio of a display is dependent on whether the observer is looking at the composition of the display itself or the composition of the objects displayed within the perimeter of the display?

Weirdly, I prefer the look of 16:10 laptops but prefer using 16:9 laptops. Whether this is biologically based or not, I don't know. I would speculate and say that this contrast in preference does have some biological foundation.

BTW, the actual perimeter of the iCloud icon is, for the most part, a square.
 
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LOL. As a graphic designer I must say, this is the most ridiculous article in a while!

Let me enlighten you a bit: True artists and seasoned graphic designers use the golden ratio all the time without even thinking - because you just feel that this proportion is well composed. Usually you are drawn to it almost like in auto pilot.

Therefore you can take any 10 good logos or designs, or even well composed photos, and you'll probably find in 7 out of them the golden ratio implemented somehow!

If Mr. van Roemburg thinks his "discovery" is unusual, I guess he must be fresh out of art school. Because only art school students during their first semesters measure it consciously with a ruler...

Apple's designers have not necessarily to be mathematical geniuses or fanboys of design history to use this proportion.
Being just a experienced professional with a decent sense for aesthetics is good enough.
 
iCloud vs Cloud

After iCloud was announced, I found their icon to be eerily similar to the CloudApp that's been on the app store for quite awhile..the only difference is one additional circle on the left. http://www.getcloudapp.com/ hasn't anyone else noticed this?
 
Because i was bored, here's a quick applescript to approximate the golden ratio.
Code:
set n to 100
set x to 0
set y to 1
repeat n times
	set z to x + y
	set x to y
	set y to z
end repeat
display alert y / x

Oh yah, and this is one of the awesome things about macs for programmers for those of you windows users out there. :) You don't even need to know applescript to be able to figure out what that code does.

Honestly, if Apple made AppleScript more than just a scripting language and turn it into a full-fledged programming language, I think it would be far easier to use than Objective-C. I use it wherever I can at least.
 
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This is by far the Best MacRumors article ever!

Except that Alan (June 15) is not the one who discovered it (on June 9). Alan seems to be intentionally shady too.

Explained in the second part of the article: http://obamapacman.com/2011/06/icloud-logo-designed-with-triple-golden-ratio/

After iCloud was announced, I found their icon to be eerily similar to the CloudApp that's been on the app store for quite awhile..the only difference is one additional circle on the left. getcloudapp.com/[/URL] hasn't anyone else noticed this?

MobileMe was established before getcloudapp.

It's like that MobileMe had the icon before this other company did.
 
So, how long before Apple gets sued by these Euclid and Pythagoras guys - whoever they are - for using their proprietary ratios?

...and yes, this is a poor attempt at humor.

OH JUST DAMN, that was awesome, I cringed and just about came outta my seat until I read the last sentence. Thanks for the near death experience.
 
Bull hockey. If Apple designed it using the correct ratios, they would have hit the numbers perfect, but they didn't, so it ain't. An esthetically pleasing shape is all it is. We are arguably hard-wired for this.
 
An attempt to explain why the golden ratio (GR) is pleasing.

1) humans find it easy to divide stuff visually by 2 and 3 and their multiples 4 and 6. Dividing any more like by fives, is harder.

2) Square versus oblong. Square, having equal sides, is static, the eye stays within the box. The 1:1.6 ratio is oblong, and because the eye travels a greater distance across the long side than the short one, there is a tendency to 'keep going'. Think about the shape of an arrow as traffic signal. This makes an oblong dynamic. The GR uses our ease with division by 3 to create an experience where the dynamic of the oblong is counter-balanced by the simplicity of the ratio 2:3. I know that the GR is really 2:3.236, and wonder if that additional 0.236 adds to the dynamic by just nudging the eye a little extra, almost to reach just enough escape velocity from the container to suggest openess yet allowing the eye to be pulled back into the design without resistance.
Combining different GR possibilities, such as the iCloud does, within a GR frame, creates a visual harmony that both encourages movement, and yet anchors the eye within this attractive container.
 
I can't believe I'm the first to post this...

I guess every iCloud has a golden lining...
(p.s. i know it's supposed to be silver lol)
 
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