From the course: Universal Principles of Design

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Golden ratio

Golden ratio

From the course: Universal Principles of Design

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Golden ratio

- [Voiceover] Hi, I'm William Lidwell and this is the Universal Principles of Design. In this movie, The Golden Ratio, or Why Sometimes, All That Glitters Isn't Gold. Prior to 1932, the quality of mass-market paperbacks was low. They were glorified pamphlets, really, made with the cheapest paper, binding, and typesetting possible. But all that changed in 1932. A German publishing company by the name of Albatross formed. In its mission was to revolutionize the paperback through design. They hired no less than the noted German typographer and graphic designer, Hans Mardersteig to design their books. Mardersteig introduced a number of landmark design innovations; cover designs that used only typography without illustrations, color coding by genre so readers would know instantly what kinds of books they were looking at, and, perhaps most notably, standard physical dimensions for all books that closely approximated the golden rectangle, a decision Mardersteig made after reading Leonardo da…

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