Notes
June 21, 2026 · 1 min read
The ratio is the design
One number decides whether a page reads as a prospectus, a product or a menu.
Text
Give two designers the same typeface, the same colours and the same grid, and set one to a 1.2 scale and the other to 1.33. The results will not look like variations. They will look like different companies.
A tight ratio compresses the distance between body text and headline. Everything sits closer together, the page reads as dense and factual, and it is what almost every law firm, bank and public body arrives at eventually. A wide ratio blows the headline away from the body and gives you the long jump that product marketing lives on.
Where it goes wrong
A wide ratio is unmanageable on a phone unless you cap the top of the scale against the viewport. Multiply 1.1rem by 1.45 six times and you get something that will not fit on a 375-pixel screen in any language. The cap is one line and it is not optional.
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