The Golden Ratio
For thousands of years, the Golden Ratio has been a part of our lives. It has been the cause of endless studies and debate throughout time. Some seek to understand why it appeared with such frequency in our natural and built worlds. Others believe it is nothing more than a mathematical concept layered into discussion whenever convenient.
The studies and debate will no doubt continue. At Quinine, we acknowledge there is validity to both arguments. But, is it simply coincidence that we can find proportional similarities between these established mathematical formulas, the structure of leaves on a tree, the Great Pyramid of Giza built 4,500 years ago and a great retail customer experience?
Whether our relationship with the Golden Ratio is a naturally occurring, innate connection or something that we’ve been conditioned to favour there’s an undeniable truth that human beings have a profound, subconscious preference for it.
What is the Golden Ratio?
Imagine a traditional business card. The likelihood is that you are picturing a card with proportions in line with the law of the Golden Ratio. If the length of the short edge equals 1, the length of the longer edge will equal 1.61 … or to be more specific, 1.618033988749895 — this number is also known as Phi.
For some reason, this ratio of 1 : 1.61, whether it’s seen in the overall proportions of an object or image, or elements within them, is more pleasing to us than millions of other alternatives.
It also sits at the heart of improving retail customer experiences.
There are hundreds of examples of the Golden Ratio, far too many to list here, but two of the most widely referenced include the architectural proportions of the Parthenon (built in Athens in 438BC) and Michaelangelo’s 1512 frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.
Why is this interesting to retail brands?
As retail responds to the demands of today’s consumer, store environments are becoming more dynamic and animated. We need the built environment to disrupt the customers' flow. We want it to surprise, to delight and alert them to all the new products and services that are available in an improved retail customer experience. But, most importantly, we want the customer to connect to the brand on a deeper, more emotional level. The experience therefore also needs to include moments that feel familiar, easy and frictionless.
It’s these in-store moments where designers can use (among other things) the scale and proportion of the physical environment to create a sense of familiarity and comfort. At Quinine, we may not directly reference the Golden Ratio in the design stage, but we invariably land on solutions that align with the 1 : 1.61 proportion. This is evident in our store build design, our design of in-store fixtures, and how we set out merchandising displays to create a continually improving retail customer experience.
Store build
In creating a new retail format for communications brand Rogers, Quinine defined an ideal location for a back-of-house alcove at the rear of the stores. The choice of location was mainly functional (giving staff quick, easy and visible access to a cable returns area) but we also needed it to feel natural and in keeping with the rest of the in-store journey. When we reviewed the location ‘rule’ that we’d defined, it became clear that, relative to the rear store wall, the position of the back of house alcove aligned with the Golden Ratio.
Store Fixtures
In EE’s Showcase stores, a large customer bar sits centrally within the store environment. This is an area for many lengthy (and sometimes complex) contract discussions. Here, we needed to provide customer and staff with as comfortable an experience as possible. To make this happen, we carefully set the size and scale of the bar according to the proportions of the Golden Ratio, creating an immediate sense of familiarity.
Merchandising
Retail offers can be made up of many complicated layers of information and choice. The way merchandising stories are organised can help (or hinder) the customer’s understanding of what’s on display. In designing a control plinth for Rogers’ Smart Home Monitoring offer, Quinine set out the zones to sit within golden ratio lines. This provided a layout that felt ‘natural’ and undisruptive, allowing the customer to navigate the display with clarity and ease.
Face-to-face retail and an improving retail customer experience is about people. Whether it’s for the benefit of the customer, staff or both, understanding the Golden Ratio, how people relate to it, and how to use it appropriately is just one way we can help improve their in-store experience.
Design Principles is a feature on our blog where we share a ‘shallow dive’ into different theories, concepts and principles that underpin our work. The aim is to better understand design principles and their practical application in retail environments.
References and other readings:
‘Universal Principles of Design’ by William Lidwell, Krinia Holden and Jill Butler.
What is the Golden Ratio? Inspiration for Better Composition, by Andrea Bruchwitz
