Return to my Most Pleasing Rectangle Web Poll pages
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dimensions in pixels: 27x33, 28x35, 28x37, 28x39, 28x41, 28x45, 28x49, 28x55

	Most pleasing rectangle:
		1 (216)	3%
		2 (174)	2%
		3 (559)	7%
		4 (1149)	15%
		5 (1635)	21%
		6 golden rectangle (2090)	27%
		7 (1408)	18%
		8 (578)	7%
	total (7809)		100%

If you just chose a rectangle, your choice has been sent to me by email, and I will be updating the graph in a day or so. Please be patient.

As I said when showing the results of Poll 1:

Rectangle #6 is the golden rectangle (1x1.61803...), discovered by the ancient Greeks, and thought to be especially pleasing. Down through the ages, aesthetics, the philosophical study of what is pleasing, has been divided between two competing views. The first is that certain things have intrinsic beauty (such as the golden rectangle). The second is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that it is personal or is culturally determined. As a pragmatic person, I believe that the truth is somewhere in between, that the golden rectangle is indeed pleasing on some basic level, but I prefer other rectangles. I guess the whole idea of this poll is to gain some insight into the idea of basic beauty vs. personal beauty.

See the results of poll 1, at the bottom of this page. In poll 2, the very same rectangles are rotated 90 degrees. And we see that the results of this poll are different. In this case, the golden rectangle is the most popular. I wonder, do rotated rectangles appear distorted (like many optical illusions), or are different rectangles simply more pleasing in different orientations?

There are many variables (color, size, order, your screen, your mood). These shapes may condition us: stationery, books, TV screens, motion picture screens, eyeglass frames, paper money, windows, doors, the paintings on your walls, the shape of your house. It may make a difference if you are a conformist or a rebel. The above rectangles are viewed within your rectangular screen and windows; maybe a different shaped screen would encourage you to choose a different rectangle. Also, many people vote more than once, sometimes for different rectangles, maybe for valid reasons. I'm sure that a few people try to skew the results. Some people seem to have strong opinions about these rectangles. I'm sure that most do not. And how do we choose between two equally pleasing choices?

Personally, I like rectangle #7 (in poll #2) much more than the others; it's hard to say why. But it doesn't seem to matter how the rectangles are arranged on the screen (I've experimented in various ways (blocking all of them out but one, rearranging, viewing from a distance)), I always seem to prefer #7.

Your comments (on this poll or both):

Previous comments (the dates are mm/dd/yy):

• 06/16/05 - [Jim: I neglected to upload these results for about eight months, sorry about that]
• 06/15/05 - Funny, I chose the golden rectangle in poll #1 (which I did 1st), but then chose #7 in poll #2. I wonder if I was just trying to be different on pupose, or if my preference actually changed based on orientation.
• 06/15/05 - very interesting though i must coment that the poll is not entirely reliable witht things like people prefering middle options, also i saw the litle diagram at the start so i knew what i was aiming for rather than it being totally random, another point is that many monitors can stretch the picture i know for a fact that i have done this to have my 600 x 800 res fit the full screen and this no doubt had distorted results, i would be interested in a poll taken on the street with pieces of cardboard with rectangles drawn.
• 06/01/05 - I've noticed that people seem to have changed their answer on which is most pleasing if the rectangles are turned.
• 05/27/05 - Hey Jim! I have to say I chose 7 too. Don't really know why but looks more attractive
• 05/24/05 - i belive u should mix up the order. just to get a better more truthful result for your poll
• 05/22/05 - the pattern of the rectanlges (ie growing from small to large) has some effect on how I would judge them, each being compared to the others by it position within the sequence. Perhaps I have failed to take your test properly but I naturally compared them based on size and location. Thus I would suggest seperate polls where the arrangment is altered... perhaps it would have some interesting results... perhaps not.
• 05/12/05 - I suppose that all poles are the same shape and sizes just the distance is the difference.
• 05/08/05 - Mine were 7 and 6 respectively. Interesting.
• 04/30/05 - Good attempt at repeating Fechner's study. I teach this in my College Math class and will be directing my students here.
• 04/25/05 - wow
• 04/13/05 - what about triangles?
• 04/11/05 - so um.......you guys are really into all this golden rectangle stuff huh? Does anybody know if cereal boxes are golden rectangles?? So that's how they market it to us!!
• 04/09/05 - C6 roxxor!1 lol Can html code be put here?
• 04/09/05 - well, in poll #1, the rectangles are closer together in comparison to the rectangles in poll #2. that's just an observation... Anyway I picked the golden rectangle in poll #2 (I admit looking for it, as opposed to picking which one I liked best(though, I do like it best!)). In poll #1 I preferred rectangle 5 in addition to thinking that it was the golden rectangle. Maybe the reason it is appealing is because it looks like a standard sheet of paper (for me, 8.5 inches by 11). Something familiar, I don't know. Neat experiment! gregp
• 04/01/05 - interesting (to me) in that I picked #7 in poll 1 and #6 in poll 2 however I looked at #7 longer in poll #2 than any other in either poll. [added after reading comments] the comments are as, if not more interesting than the poll. the layout spacing and order of presentation would make for another interesting poll] GREAT SITE
• 04/01/05 - interesting (to me) in that I picked #7 in poll 1 and #6 in poll 2 however I looked at #7 longer in poll #2 than any other in either poll
• 03/29/05 - I just read the post on 12/03/03, that ordered multiple choice polls tend to always give normal distributions. Also very interesting. Do you have a reference? You can correct this bias by presenting the options in a random order each time. (And don't reveal the rectangle numbers until the results are presented.) This may wipe out your beautiful results...
• 03/29/05 - Very interesting! The fact that you get a smooth distribution seems to suggest that you are in fact measuring a 'real' quantity. Why not make a new poll with a square as an option, to see how it compares with the golden rectangle. I prefer the symmetry myself. I wonder if there is smoothness in the distribution of favorite colors...!
• 03/26/05 - chose 6 for both poll 1 and 2...i am a cosmetic dentist in sydney,australia...we apply the golden ratio principles when designing smiles. Rectangle 6 looked pleasing to me ! excellent Poll-- interesting results !!
• 03/16/05 - i liked rectangle 8 in both polls (1 and 2) because it looked darker than the rest. the color seemed fuller, less dull, i have no clue why that is.
• 02/28/05 - ok, ive never heard of a "golden rectangle" or anything and when taking this poll didnt understand how one could be more pleasing since they were all just shapes and black ones at that... I dont quite understand this as well as some stuff on this page but a lot of stuff was quite neat
• 02/26/05 - You should make a blog about mathematics. Maybe if you changed number 6 to a different position or placed them on random the results will differ.
• 02/22/05 - Very interesting! I am a devotee of the phi, the golden ratio. But I missed the golden rectangle by one box. ProfFree@aol.com
• 02/18/05 - Poll 2 - I chose 6 (probably b/c the golden rectangle IS pleasing). However, in poll 1, I chose 8 - I suspect because they seemed more like human figures and taller looks better, given a certain width (girth wink).
• 02/16/05 - I liked #7 too
• 02/08/05 - I find the most fascinating aspect of this poll to be the comments that people leave. I'm sure there are a few psychology theses in here...
• 02/02/05 - This is strange man! A rectangle is only pleasing or not so, based on the observers preference. Your excerise is to determine a majority consensus? But why? Strange. We all live in a world of air, Earth and sky, so what would bias an individual more that the limitations of their own persistent vision.
• 01/26/05 - I did poll 2, first and then poll 1. I chose #8 in poll 2, and #1 in poll 1. Of course, like everyone else, I'm not certain why I chose the ones that I did. However, since #1 and #8 are the beginning and ending options, I think I may have chosen them simply because all the other ones, comparatively, seemed unfinished.-Christine
• 01/25/05 - I feel that the polls differ because how we see the rectangles is a reflection of how we see ourselves.
• 01/22/05 - THE BELL CURVE SEEMS TO BE WHAT YOU ARE SHOWING. MORE PEOPLE PICK THE MIDDLE CHOICE AND THEN LESS ON EACH SIDE OF THAT. I FOUND THAT INTERESTING.
• 01/22/05 - I think the reasons for the discrepancy between poll 1 and poll 2 is that most people's monitors are NOT adjusted properly and show each rectangle out of proportion.
• 01/08/05 - You prefer #7; do you own an HD TV?
• 01/05/05 - Excellent site Jim.
• 12/28/04 - Perhaps those who like #7 in poll #2 have widescreen televisions at home? Those TV's have aspect ratios of 16:9, which is very close to the 49:28 dimensions of #7.
• 12/15/04 - this is a very interesting idea. good for you
• 12/14/04 - ghj,hujkyikvbnfh fgh f gn rrfgjhrfgh werfnmt gh ryujkmrrqef egdh aer tm,y,sew rt
• 12/12/04 - i liked 4 on the first pole, and 7 on the second... w/e, which ones are the "right ones"? -Ali
• 12/10/04 - I'm a physics/astronomy/math university librarian; I've noticed that one mathematician here continues to use 3X5 cards and printed resources to do his work, but most use MathSciNet. Students print reams of 8.5X11 sheets on the library printers, but few seem to hang on to this material, arrange it, and store it for future use- clearly because handling such a freakishly proportioned rectangle is akin to holding a turd in one's hand. To sum up, 8.5 X 11 paper goes in landfills and contributes to the decline of civilization, 3X5 cards (much closer to golden, are flash cards, learning languages, etc.) advance civilization, lead to enlightenment, and may be easily arranged and stored for future use. By the way, we threw out the card catalog years ago. I wonder if that was a bad move...if we are to win the war in Iraq, we need to bring the troops home, outline democracy on 3X5 cards, and dump them from planes over the cities.
• 12/06/04 - Highly impressive material, I give this site two thumbs up.
• 12/06/04 - The 8 solid black squares on the wavey white/gray background resulted in a headache. I require financial compensation for two Tylenol. Seriously though, I would suggest the method of finding an eye prescription - picking one and then showing another and saying "Is this more pleasing?". I, being more or less of the MTV generation, find that I cannot focus on more than 2 objects at one time.
• 11/20/04 - results are showing a skewed distribution toward the higher end - perhaps a result of the order? also, the order and proximity of the rectangles may be biassing the results. Overall, a very good test.
• 11/19/04 - And how does this relate to the woman's skirt? (I noticed that the shape was the golden rectangle. Is that the point?)
• 11/19/04 - Hi Jim, What I think is most interesting are the questions that you ask about perseption and environmental influences. Aspect ratios of monitors and TV's are similar and we are all used to viewing images in that size rectangle.
• 11/16/04 - I agree with Matt below
• 11/16/04 - Nice site. One thought - using Fibonacci ratios (2x3, 3x5, 5x8, ...) make the most "accurate" golden rectangles for the number of digits involved. For instance, 34/21 and 55/34 give roughly 1/10 and 1/30 the errors respectively from the golden mean compared to your estimate of 45/28. With the mass of data your have, however, I can see you wouldn't want to change now. Ideas for someone else, perhaps. . .. ... .....
• 11/16/04 - The answer to the puzzle is to open both doors, then take the goats.
• 10/15/04 - [Jim: I neglected to upload these results for about three months, sorry about that]
• 10/12/04 - no comment
• 10/07/04 - have you polled with the rectangles out of order. in a graded scale most people chose the middle option. great pages. thank you
• 10/05/04 - im probably a dumbass but what is a golden rectangle as opposed to an ordinary one. [See Golden Rectangle and Golden Ratio]
• 09/30/04 - Funny, I liked #5 the best in Poll 1, and #6 a lot better in Poll 2... -Matt
• 09/30/04 - Interesting note that it may make a difference if you are a rebel. In general, I am rather out of the norm, yet here chose in both polls the most popular one. I wonder if one's height (and therefore one's perspective on others' general shape) is a factor...
• 09/24/04 - Hi, this is a very interesting experiment. In some ways we are attempting a similar experiment with sound's and the structure of our music. We utilise many ratio's that have turned out also to be 'sacred' numbers. We decided to call our music sci-trance, so it is reasurring so see the blending of art and science elsewhere. It is also handy to be able to link to visual representations of sounds when they are constructed in similar ways. Our site is at http://www.scitrance.com.
• 09/23/04 - Are the golden rectangles slightly over subscribed in both polls? Would this happen if the subjects had never heard of golden rectangles (eg. ask children to do the polls)? Could it be due to the physiology of the eye?
• 09/07/04 - nick
• 08/12/04 - Jim, have you seen Palladio's or Vitruvius proportions? Have any of the other non golden ratio rectangles this proportions? All these proportions are thought to be pleasing and "correct" in architecture. Julio
• 07/30/04 - rumpleschnits
• 07/23/04 - 5 had the most pleasing ratio of the vertical rectangles (poll 1), but 6 did when horizontal (poll 2). For poll 1, I thought the best would be the most door-like (6), but decided it looked improperly proportioned for a human, so I chose 5. I wasn't sure what real-life object's dimensions ought determine the ideal horizontal rectangle (coffin? altar?), but 6 just looked right immediately for poll 2.
• 07/20/04 - they all look the same Ihate this site
• 07/18/04 - Sorry for posting this here, but Jim, you should put the entire site up as a tarball (or zip file) so that we can do offline browsing. Please, please, please do it. Your site is fabulous. I am also going to suggest this site to BBC World's Click Online program for their websites section. Keep up the good work and keep posting new articles. Also, have you put up some articles on 'Prime Numbers'? I feel u can include and explain all the existing formulae that provide prime numbers (approx). Thanks again, bye, Ishan
• 07/08/04 - Dear Jim:
• 06/18/04 - Intriguing
• 06/13/04 - The Golden Ratio is good, but I like the square
• 06/10/04 - I preferred #6 in poll 1, but #7 in poll 2.
• 06/02/04 - Re: multiple submissions from one source, could be all the students from the several periods of one teacher's Geometry class, going out of the class computer or the school gateway.
• 06/02/04 - Re: screen resolution, all the common PC screen resolutions are 4:3, yielding square pixels. 1280x1024, however, will distort proportions, unless you adjust your monitor to narrow the display appropriately.
• 05/21/04 - I chose #3 in the first poll and #2 here so I'm bucking the trend, though I was tempted by #7.
• 05/21/04 - turned out exact for me in both the cases- 5 for first, 6 for second. just come back to this site again and again when frustrated with research.
• 05/21/04 - I voted #1 ( square) in poll one, and #6 (golden) in poll two. It seems that my brain is pleased by a more stablized configuration, but not too fat.
• 05/05/04 - QUOTE:02/18/04 - "In response to whoever posted on 12/03, saying that no matter what we'd see a bell curve. He's right - except if it were nothing but randomness, the top of the curve would probably be around choice 4 or 5. The fact that the bell curve is skewed to choice 6 indicates there's something special about that rectangle." In that case, maybe you could start another poll where you present, say, only rectangles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. If it really was a bell curve, you would expect 3 to be most popular. If the "golden rectangle effect" is stronger, you would expect 5 to be most popular.
• 04/30/04 - DIE VIRGINS! how would you know what a womens' waist looks like? only the advent of free internet porn. get out of your mom's basement and stop printing out nude pics of Sarah Michelle Gellar and wash your Everquest shirt and go get some fresh air RETARDS. I hope you people die cold and alone while everybody else is having fun and hitting up girls and drinking jack daniels. get a job and take a shower!
• 04/30/04 - you guys.....rectangles suck.....bad....
• 04/30/04 - I hate you all...
• 04/14/04 - To the person worried about screen resolution, note that all of the resolutions that you mention are in the same proportion (4:3). Other proportions probably don't create a significant source of error as they are awkward, hard to use, and hard to set for most users (i.e. with a pre-packaged resolutions).
• 04/08/04 - Rectangle 5 rules, you infidel, heathen, barbarians! BOW YOUR HEADS!!
• 03/29/04 - <script>alert("xxs");</script>
• 03/08/04 - I made the comments on Poll 1 regarding symmetry. You don't have the same problem with this one because of the way you placed the object. I think if you orientated the objects in Poll 1 as you have in Poll 2, you would see different results.
• 03/01/04 - [Jim: Sorry I neglected to upload data for almost a whole month]
• 02/25/04 - Hey, did you think about screen resolution? For ex, 800x600 is the most used resolution but my brother likes 720x480 and I like 1024x768. The rectangles on computer screen will look diffrent, as x pixel size is not always the same as y pixel size
• 02/24/04 - it is likely that we choose the shape we fing the most familiar to us. With the vertical rectangles, I would be willing to bet the dimensions of the most popular rectangle are very similar to that of a common door. We see them often
• 02/18/04 - In response to whoever posted on 12/03, saying that no matter what we'd see a bell curve. He's right - except if it were nothing but randomness, the top of the curve would probably be around choice 4 or 5. The fact that the bell curve is skewed to choice 6 indicates there's something special about that rectangle.
• 02/18/04 - pretty amazing that people are checking this out so much. anyway, it seems to me that most people are probably just taking poll 1 and are seing its results before taking poll 2. since you left the rectangles in the same order, they pick number 6 because that would be the number most people think that they are 'supposed' to pick. just my thoughts -jake
• 02/18/04 - Interesting! I picked 5 on poll1 and 6 on poll 2. I guess I am just too predictable
• 02/17/04 - what if your head is tilted? crossing my eyes did not help either, but seriously , folks -this is no laughing matter. Context is a sordid affair. On inversion numerically the digit 1 appears and disappears :there's a lot to that golden ratio "the lesser is to the greater as the greater is to the whole", recalling that the number one is often symbolizes unity. It wraps up duality nicely, and tucks it safely away where the evil filthy stinking rich cannot use it on the vegan odourless peasant [who doesn't require soap or paper - especially toilet paper] who does their math homework to keep from being bullied. Seriously, the golden rule is not "he who has the gold makes the rules" but we seem to hand over intellectual property to the company who can destroy the planet the quickest...ie sudden appearance of cell phone microwaves and the sudden disappearance of songbirds correlate - who has a "patron" to research such things -that's why it is still good to tell the rich they make the rules.sorry to rant - it's the content.
• 02/16/04 - i found the golden . If anything looks unstable in a compositionrectangle to be much more apealing horizontaly. It looked much too tall before, perhaps unstable it is unpleasing to the eye. actuall 6 is a little too fat in this one (i prefer
• 02/14/04 - I chose #8 in both. Long rectangles 4 eva.
• 02/14/04 - Maybe you just like #7 because #7 is a popular number? (the most popular of 1-9). Did you ever try it without the numbers?
• 02/11/04 - Arastirmanizdaki ayni iki dikdörtgenin rotasyondan sonra farkli gibi algilanmasinin nedeni tamamen bir göz aldanmasý. Göz dikdörtgeni hep yatay gördugunden Altin Dikdörtgeni ayiredebiliyor. Ancak digerinde alisilmadik bir obje onu sasirtiyor...
• 01/29/04 - We see vertical and horizontal differently because of the stereo-optic quality of having two eyes receiving input, placed in our faces at the same height but horizontally several inches apart. Would the differences in the poll be there if the rectangles were judged with one eye closed, or are we just used to judging objects against a horizon line.
• 01/27/04 - Dang, I got the wrong answer, both times! Could I have your permissin to take the tests over? [Jim's comment - There are no wrong answers. If you try again, I may be able to guess which one you will pick]
• 01/24/04 - interesting. was this meant comically
• 01/13/04 - ersxvcvg f vxzkxjzvx vkjxcvkjzxv-zvvxv axdfvxcxzcvxzvxzvxzvxzcccccccccccccccxzrtfdastfgsdgsffgdsfsdgdsfmghssdgusdypgiy sdigsduiopgdu oisudgdsoiugods g ds oignu sdgi;gsdgds8eastr; kisdgi dfgd9fodf dsfgpdgp[pdflg;ds -0dsfgds[gdsf/g
• 01/13/04 - [I suffered two computer crashes, and I lost about three weeks worth of data, including several reader comments. Sorry about that. By the way, someone has been flooding my email with rectangle poll choices. Most of that got deleted.]
• 12/10/03 - I'm just curious how you manage to get a total of 101% in this poll.... (btw, I picked 3 for poll1 and 5 on poll2) [Jim's answer: Finally, someone asked about that. That is roundoff error, happens all the time. An example is 1/6+1/6+1/6 = 1/2, but 1/6 = 0.166666 rounded off to 0.17, and 0.17+0.17+0.17 = 0.51 or 51%]
• 12/10/30 - [On this day, one person submitted over 100 choices (various rectangles) to these two polls. This has happened two or three times in the past]
• 12/03/03 - You ought to know that polls that have multiple choice responses and have those responses ordered in any way will almost always yield a Normal Curve around one of the middle choices. I'm not saying your results are thereby invalid, but the rectangles on the end are probably short-changed int terms of their aesthetic supporters. If the order of the rectangles were random, your results would perhaps still show the golden rectangle as the most favored, but the others would be (much closer to ?) a tie.
• 11/22/03 - Thank you for providing this survey. Like many others, I found the golden rectangle most pleasing only when it was horizontal. I wonder why that is.
• 11/12/03 - I've waisted entirely too much time on this page!
• 10/31/03 - I picked #5 on both, totally forgetting about the Golen Rectangle. Why were the Greeks so interested in them???
• 10/15/03 - cheated and went to the results on this one - sorry - i wont submit an answer to poll 2 - [Jim: I don't think it's cheating to look ahead on this poll, but people are influenced by seeing the results]
• 10/10/03 - I picked rectangle 5 in poll 1 and rectangle 7 in poll 2, totally bypassing the golden rectangle.
• 09/16/03 - i would like the longest rectangles, just like when you watch tv, or movie, the widest screen width give you the most spectacular scene. don;t u think so?
• 09/14/03 - Interesting example of cognitive psychology. I chose the golden rectangle - does that make me normal? It would be good to see the male/female ratios, as women and men see differently. Discussing this with my partner, we decided that I see more in terms of lines and angles, while she sees in terms of light and shade. Also where, I would just say blue or red, she would say cornflower or fuscia. Wonder if all of this makes a difference? Thanks
• 09/11/03 - I chose #1 in both polls, personally, I don't find the "golden" rectangle to be particularly pleasing. I think the reason for my choice is the fact that #1 was closest in proportions to being square, which to my mind represents a certain order...
• 09/02/03 - It's too hard to focus on a particular rectangle in poll 1, they are too close together. [Jim says: Personally, I think you have to compare adjacent rectangles, in order to choose between them; that is mainly why I resist randomizing the order]
• 08/24/03 - I chose 7 in poll 1 and 6 in poll 2. I wonder how would a mixture of horizontal and vertical rectangles would far
• 08/11/03 - The rectangles should be presented in random placement on the page. Additional shapes and colors should be interspersed as "filler". Just a thought. Thanks.
• 07/31/03 - Several stripes (or rectangles) of equal width will appear thinner than a single stripe. The layout of poll 1 produces this effect, but the layout of poll 2 doesn't. Hence poll 1 is shifted towards 'fatter' choices.
• 07/31/03 - I suspect the biggest difference between the polls is - In poll 1, as the eye scans "left to right", the change is "up and down". This encourages a relative comparison between rectangles. In poll 2, as the eye scans "left to right", the change is "left to right". This encourages the eye to consider each rectangle separately.
• 07/29/03 - An interesting note on the ratio of phi (1.618033988749895...) is that you can determine the height of a woman's navel from the floor by dividing the woman's height by phi (1.6180339...) One more ditty: if you take the reciprocal of phi you get the same number minus 1.
• 07/15/03 - I chose #7 in both polls. #6 just looks "wrong" somehow.
• 07/10/03 - i think if the theory of golden rectangle hold true ie. the intrinsic beauty in poll 1/poll 2. Maybe there is a crteria to apply the rule effectively. say, how, when or where we see the rectangles. And different choices might made other than the the golden one.
• 07/02/03 - It is a bit disconcerting to take the poll and get the page that says message has been sent. If the user wrongly assumes that this is a second pop up page and therefore closes it they are gone form your site. A message to hit the back button is would be most useful. Thanks I love the information overall! [Jim says: It won't be ideal, but I will improve that situation]
• 06/21/03 - There is more white space around the rectangles in poll 2, possibly making them easier to judge individually. I also noticed that in poll 2 the bottoms of the rectangles line up, in poll 1 they do not, I think this may make it more difficult to compare the rectangles in poll 1. It also makes it impossible to compare the two sets of results because you changed more than 1 variable. Are the dimensions of all the rectangles available anywhere? [dimensions in pixels: 27x33, 28x35, 28x37, 28x39, 28x41, 28x45, 28x49, 28x55]
• 06/10/03 - Im curious if the rectangles are more appealing, or is it just human nature to choose a number somewhere in the middle?
• 06/05/03 - HI, I just picked my lucky number 7.
• 05/31/03 - I agree with and like your idea about motion picture screens being an influence on us. I own a large collection of widescreen movies (which I prefer over fullscreen) and I think that might have influenced my decision to choose #7 in this poll. By the way, I chose #6 in the first poll. It's funny how I'm aware they are the same rectangles as the corresponding numbers in the other poll, yet I prefer a different one just by the different orientation. Very interesting!
• 05/20/03 - I agree with the group comments below, negtive space is important. I was surprised that I chose #6 both times. Apparently I'm predictable :) I'm also a Vis Artist... do you have any read on how the"training of the eye" affects this? [Jim asks: Does artistic training change your personal aesthetics?]
• 05/18/03 - in poll 1 for triangle 4 looked better; in this poll I thought triangle 6 looked better, that's strange...
• 05/16/03 - great project
• 05/14/03 - I think when making a decision on what is the most visually pleasing shape, you have to take in to account the space around the shape. Also if it is in a group, where it sits in that group because the group itself creates a shape of its own and will lead your eye to certain areas depending on the distances between, and the shapes of the other elements. You may get different results again if you were to present the forms in their own space seperately.
• 05/12/03 - Maybe people just did Poll 1, saw what the "right" answer was, and voted "right" in Poll 2? People are so dumb . . .
• 05/11/03 - What are the dimensions (ratio) of the #5 verticle rectangle? Architects could make windows this ratio and buildings would look nicer! [Jim replies: 79x53 pixels or 1.49]
• 05/05/03 - poll 1 is almost an illusion, poll 2 is fine, probably why the results for poll 2 seem more "correct"
• 05/05/03 - bugger. I had just voted 5 on the vertical poll. I believe, had i done this poll first, I would have picked 6. Now I will never know if i was making an unbiased choice.
• 05/02/03 - The distribution of the stats truly fascinates - Why is the "bell" curve "normal" ?
• 05/01/03 - My vote was tainted with jealously.
• 04/27/03 - The sideways appearance of the rectangle makes it resemble something we see often in daily life: windows (not the computer kind). And apart from the big square windows, the window we see most often is between 4 and 6
• 12/28/02 - Told ya so!
• 12/28/02 - finnaly the rest of you agree with me!
• 12/13/02 - hmm
• 10/29/02 - telwhich one is the golden one
• 09/12/02 - This is stupid
• 06/21/02 - I've got to tell you that your bar graphs on the poll1 and poll 2 page is wrong. 116 votes does not equal 30% of 1501 go check!
• 06/11/02 - i have a crush on number 5!
• 04/22/02 - there all pretty
• 04/22/02 - YAH BABY
• 03/14/02 - very good

Here are the results of poll 1, if you would like to compare:

	Most pleasing rectangle:
		1 (843)	7%
		2 (423)	4%
		3 (1310)	12%
		4 (2302)	20%
		5 (2784)	24%
		6 golden rectangle (2101)	18%
		7 (801)	7%
		8 (806)	7%
	total (11370)		99%

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