When working with aspect ratios, it is important to know the most common ones used in design. What are the most common screen aspect ratios?ġ0 computer screens with varying sizes and their aspect ratios written on their screens. With both dimensions, the aspect ratio will always be 16:9. On the other hand, a 16:9 aspect ratio in pixels could be 1024×576 pixels or 1152×648 pixels. An image could be 200×200 pixels or 500×500 pixels, but the aspect ratio will always remain 1:1. For example, a ratio of 1:1 will always be 1:1, no matter the dimensions of the image. One key characteristic of aspect ratios is that they do not change. Therefore, it is always important to note the aspect ratio of your device when preparing images and videos for your design. In web design, designers want to avoid having images cropped and potentially losing their meaning to the user. If an image or video’s aspect ratio is different than the device it is viewed on, the image will be cropped. On the other hand, YouTube’s frame is a rectangle with an aspect ratio of 16:9. On Instagram, you will notice that photos are on a 1:1 (one-to-one) square grid.
Aspect ratio formulaĪspect ratios are written out as a formula of width to height. Therefore, a 1:2 ratio will remain consistent and true whether the dimensions are 100×200 inches or 500×1000 inches. This allows designers to communicate in a common language by reducing the aspect ratio to the lowest ratio possible. For example, if the dimensions of a rectangle are 50-inches wide and 100-inches tall, the ratio is 1:2, as opposed to 50:100. It’s important to note that aspect ratio is not simply just a measurement of width and height, but it is a number that is reduced to the smallest possible ratio. Simply put, an aspect ratio is how large an image’s width is compared to its height (often expressed in an “X:Y” format) without any pixels or units attached. An aspect ratio is often a rectangle or square, and always bounded by a fixed height and width.
Every image, canvas, and artboard can be defined by its unique shape, and an aspect ratio is used to describe the fixed proportions of these shapes.