#3–The Golden Ratio

Most people know of The Golden Ratio as the Rule of Thirds in photography, which says the most appealing photos have the subject along the lines that divide the image into thirds. The Golden Ratio appears throughout nature though: the location of our eyes (two-thirds from bottom of our faces), a dolphin’s fins (one-third down their back from their nose), and DNA’s double-helix (each spiral being two-thirds as wide as it is tall), and many more. There’s something special about this two-thirds, one-third proportion.

What should be interesting to a Product Manager about this is that you don’t need to know about The Golden Ratio to be affected by it. People automatically perceive things that show the ratio as more natural, beautiful, and safe. That’s a big deal because it’s connecting to something below our consciousness?–?aka. it’s bypassing the bouncer in people’s minds that can shut the door to a product.

Anything that makes people feel but is hard to explain should be studied by PMs. What do you love but can’t quite put your finger on? There’s a powerful force there.

To train your sensitivity to these things areas, find things you’re drawn to but don’t know why?– study them, hold them, stare at them, write about them. Even if you never learn about some elegant concept like The Golden Ratio, you’ll develop your intuition and that’s just as powerful.

An iPod Shuffle I keep in my office to remind me how products can be inexplicably lovable. I love this thing. (Incidentally, that clickwheel location also happens to show The Golden Ratio, coincidence?)