TOBM.8 - The Golden Ratio
A proportional creation.
Welcome to the eighth edition of TOBM!
In this editorial, we will be sharing previews and full chapters of The Orange Book of Marketing with some commentaries and highlights.
Learn more about the book by clicking this link.
VIII - The Golden Ratio
To talk about the Golden Ratio without being a mathematician is perhaps an outrage for many great minds from the past. Mr. Da Vinci, please give us some space and a compass for words, we shall brainstorm.
If we are to think about it, that which is golden can be many different things, but the consistency will always be its value. And if something valuable ought to be created or done, it should always be “that which is a little bit more.” For when we order something at a cafe, we consume it and then pay for it, but leaving a tip is “that which is a little bit more”, it is enough to make the day of the person who is providing you the experience because it is not expected and provides not only sentiment but also utility.
That which is a ratio refers to the quantity between two amounts, a duality to be measured, a value to be distributed in the right way so that it becomes golden. Splitting something in half is a type of neutrality where there is no gain and no loss, nor a gift or a request, but if we are to consider two slices of cake, the one with a cherry on the top is the one that stands out fairly because it has “that which is a little bit more.”, and although some people might not realise the difference, you as a creator should.
At the end of the day, the golden rule is always you, because you exist, and it can only come from you rather than be expected from others. When creating something, balancing this measure is something that happens in many different perspectives of many different details of what is being created. It represents how you add not only your humanity but also your essence - calling Da Vinci, Mr. Da Vinci was not really needed, but this tiny detail represents my personal token of appreciation for his memory, which is a byproduct of his legacy, teachings and my admiration of such.
And so, creative people will keep on creating, but for some, the next creation should always be better than the previous one. Quality in this context becomes a byproduct of not only inner persistence but also self-diligence in regard to our own quality criteria. This simple aspect of creation - the quality criteria is what differentiates the average creators from the greatest creators simply and forever because those who truly acknowledge the golden ratio are able to realise that there is always something to be improved until a concept reaches its final form. This is very much a dialogue that happens between the canvas and the creative's mind; it is an exchange of transformation that begins in the crudest version of what is being created and the tools that the designer or writer is using in order to better refine, ideate and craft the most optimal version he or she can possibly achieve for that endeavour.